<r/y. X^_JJ /-..U/ 

=^^«^ t.l^.'j.- 

<^e^^?y//.=A^. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE 



ATTRACTIONS 



WORLD TO COME. 



BY / 



ALFRED BRYANT, 

PASTOR OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, NILES, MICHIGAN. 



<a^ 




/ 



NEW YOEK: 
PUBLISHED BY M. W. DODD, 

Corner of Spruce St. and City Hall Square. 



1853, 



^-v 



O-o^^^^^^-^^ 







c<^ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, 

BY M. W. DODD, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of 
New York. 



DEDICATORY. 

TO THE 0HITECHE8 I^ THE WEST ESPECIALLY, TO WHICH 
HE HAS PEEACHED, AXD TO THE PEOPLE AMOXG WHOM 
HE HAS LABOEED IN THE GOSPEL, AS WELL AS TO ANT, 
IN EYEET PLACE, INTO WHOSE HANDS IT MAT FALL, WHO 
DESIEE A BETTEE POETION THAN EAETH, OE LOYE TO 
CONTEMPLATE THE FUTUEE, THIS WOEK IS AFFECTION- 
ATELY INSCEIBED, IN THE HOPE THAT IT MAT CONYINCE 

THE DOUBTING ^EECLAIM THE WANDEEING — GUIDE THE 

EEEING COMFOET THE AFFLICTED — CHEEE THE DESPOND- 
ING AND LEAD SOME TO SEEK MOEE EAENESTLT THE 

BLESSINGS OF ETEENAL LIFE. 



onttntn. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

PAGE 

The great business of life — The dangers of the present age — 
An erroneous idea that the world to come is repulsive — G-od 
has sought to render it attractive — Shadowed forth in the 
beauties of the present world — Attractive emblems — Riches, 
honors, pleasures — A delightful theme to patriarchs and 
prophets — To apostles and primitive Christians — Its contem- 
plation essential to a correct appreciation of the Gospel - 9 

CHAPTER 11. 

IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

An anxious inquiry — Not discovered by reasons — Its true ori- 
gin revealed in the Old Testament — Argument from uni- 
versal assent — Argument from love of existence — Argument 
from instinct — Argument from the powers of the mind — Ar- 
gument from inequalities in providence — Delightfully at- 
tractive — Gives great dignity to existence — Hope for the 
guilty _-...----- 23 



VI CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER III. 

THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 

PAGE 

Uncertainty respecting it painful — A common error — A neces- 
sary distinction — Conscious existence of the soul — The right- 
eous with Christ — The form of the soul — Longings of Nature 
— The character of the soul— The repose of the soul — Its re- 
ceptive state — Do the departed revisit earth ?— A delightful 
prospect 54 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE RESURRECTION. 

A fundamental doctrine — Revealed in the Old Testament-^ 
Brought out to a clearer light in the New — Proved from the 
Resurrection of Christ — The reanimation of that which dies 
— Body essential to the mind — The higher adaptations of 
the body — A physiological objection answered — Paul's views 
of personal identity — A wonderful transformation — The 
import of a spiritual body— -Emblems in nature — The world's 
cemetery — First glorious result — Second glorious result — 
Third glorious result ------- 93 

CHAPTER V. 

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

Fear a proper motive — A solemn reality — When it wiU take 
place — The length of time denoted — Its great design — Why 
necessary — Its attractions to the good- — The time of reward 
to the righteous — To whom it will not be attractive — The 
place of Judgment 141 



CONTENTS. VU 

CHAPTER VI. 

THE NATURE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

PAGB 

Inquiry lawful — A pure mind essential — Love an element — 
Righteousness an element — Humility an element — Faith an 
element — Hope an element — Patience an element — Submis- 
sion and resignation — Necessity of an external heaven — 
Heaven a place — Its locality — The society of Heaven — Great 
social enjoyment — Personal recognition — Particular friend- 
ships in heaven — Pleasures of seeing — Pleasures of hearing 
— Pleasures of increasing knowledge — Pleasures of doing 
good — Convocations in heaven — Different degrees of glory 
in heaven — Heaven incomprehensible 169 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

Hell the only spot not attractive — The importance of the sub- 
ject — Not annihilation — Not torment in literal fire — Sym- 
bolic import of fire — Literal fire not intended by Christ — 
Inconsistent with degrees in punishment — Inconsistent with 
other Scriptures — Hell a place — Punishment the consequence 
of sin-— Sin can produce intense misery — Hell the opposite of 
Heaven — The character of God vindicated — Christ saves 
from sin — God the Avenger — The wicked destroy themselves 
— An alarming prospect — A great mystery — Mitigating con- 
siderations 239 



CHAPTER I. 

INTEODUCTORY. 

" Earth has eDgrossed my love too long, 
'Tis time I lift my eyes 
Upward, Dear Father, to thy throne, 
And to my native skies." 

With those who believe that we are created for, 
and destined to another and a higher life than the 
present, there can be no question where our affec- 
tions ought to be placed, and for what we ought to 
live. Our days on earth are as a hand-breadth. 
Life is a vapor, which endureth for a little time, 
and then passes away. We are like grass — " in the 
morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the 
evening it is cut down, and withereth." Even the 
generations of men chase one another in rapid suc- 
cession, as shadows o'er the plain, and continue not. 
How poor a thing is human life in itself considered. 
It is the future only, — man's immortal destiny, — 
which gives worth and dignity to his existence. It 
seems a folly, therefore, exceedingly stupid, to be 
so in love and taken up with the present, as to ne- 
glect the future world. 

True wisdom dictates a different course. We 



10 INTRODUCTORY. 

should live for the highest end of our being. Cast- 
ing our eyes prospectively along the vista of those 
eternal ages, through which we are successively to 
pass, we should aim so to live, that in the present we 
might lay the sure foundation for our highest wel- 
fare in the life to come. 

"What folly it would be in youth to be so cap- 
tivated with momentary pleasures as to neglect that 
education which was essential to fit them for the 
business, the usefulness, and enjoyment of man- 
hood's maturer years. In what light, then, shall we 
regard that course of thought, action, and pursuit, 
which is blind to the future world, and which dis- 
regards the influence our present existence is to 
have on that to which we are destined ? There is 
a strange infatuation in human minds. The things 
of time and sense, which are so transient and illu- 
sory so captivate and enchant, that the world to 
come, for which we were made, and to which we are 
hastening, is, for the most part, wholly obscured. 

This is one of the sad and darkening effects of 
sin. It dims, or puts out the vision of faith in things 
unseen. It practically blots out a future existence 
— turns man away from God, a wretched wanderer 
— and the bright and glorious destiny for which he 
was made. It leads him to seek and love the crea- 
ture more than God the Creator, who is over all, 
blessed forever. 

Under the influence of a mind darkened and be- 
wildered in respect to spiritual things, the tendency 
of all things earthly is away from God, and that life 



INTRODUCTORY. 11 

of faith, which is designed to prepare us for those 
transformations, which are to "usher us into those 
brighter spheres in reserve, in the undeveloped fu- 
ture. And yet the world to come was never more 
a reality, or nearer, or more important, than at 
present. The dark river of death rolls its turbid 
waters continually onward, carrying away, as with 
a flood, man and his works. Along its banks 
^' wisdom crieth ! She uttereth her voice in the 
streets : she crieth in the chief place of concourse, 
in the opening of the gates : in the city she uttereth 
her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will 
ye love simplicity ? and the scorners delight in their 
scorning, and fools hate knowledge ? Turn you at 
my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto 
you ; I will make known my words unto you." 
" Set your affections on things above, and not on 
things on the earth." ^^ Seek first the kingdom of 
God, and his righteousness." But how generally is 
the voice of heavenly wisdom lost amid the excite- 
ment, the anxieties, and the giddy whirl of life. 

The dangers of a supreme and all-absorbing world- 
liness, to the exclusion of eternal things^ were never 
greater than at the present day. The marvellous 
inventions and improvements, and discoveries of the 
present age, have given an unwonted impetus to the 
human mind, and sent it forth amid intense excite- 
ment, into new and untried fields of worldly enter- 
prise and adventure. It is almost impossible not to 
let go heaven, and join in the onward rush for 
wealth, pleasure and glory. Were all these influ- 



12 INTKOBUCTORY. 

ences setting heavenward, the prospect would be 
glorious and holy ; but they run, for the most part, 
in an opposite direction. There is even danger that 
the various benevolent institutions, which are regard- 
ed as the glory of the age, will become animated by 
the same worldly spirit, and be regarded chiefly as 
valuable, on account of their ameliorating influence 
on man as a citizen of earth, and not on account of 
their tendency to prepare him, as an immortal being, 
for an unending life. 

On the well-established principle, that the present 
age is mainly decisive of that which is next to come, 
the indications are, that the time coming will be one 
of unparalleled wealth and splendor, and of con- 
centrated worldliness in all its sensual and earth- 
loving forms. If it is not so, it will be because the 
danger is averted by stronger spiritual influences 
than are now put forth — by a more intense and de- 
voted heavenly mindedness in the church, and a 
warmer love for things unseen than is now manifest. 

It is becoming, therefore, for each one in his 
sphere, to labor to give to eternal things their true 
prominence, and to urge their claims on human at- 
tention and love. Such is the professed design of 
the following pages. 

It is an exceedingly erroneous idea, too commonly 
entertained, that the realities of the world to come 
are only gloomy and repulsive ; and that strong and 
steadfast views of a future life are joyless, and un- 
suited to the necessary duties, pursuits, and enjoy- 
ments of the present world. But this is a great 



INTRODUCTORY. 13 

mistake. Error, delusion, and fanaticism, may ren- 
der any world dark and forbidding by their dis- 
torted and extravagant representation; but truth, 
from the pure fountain, beaming as light from the 
sun, clothes all in beauty. When orderly and 
scripturally contemplated, the future world has at- 
tractions infinitely surpassing any objects or glories 
which earth can present, and powers to elevate, en- 
noble and refine the soul, and fill it with joy un- 
speakable, which no agencies beneath the Unseen 
can exert. 

There is an occasional, unwilling, and imperfect 
view of the realities of an endless life, which is in- 
deed gloomy enough, as it is forced upon the mind 
by disease or death, in the midst of worldlj^ pros- 
perity and sin. And there is sometimes on the part 
of the wicked, a fearful looking for of judgment, 
which renders the whole subject of a future state 
repulsive. But it need not be so to any who 
*^ do justl}^, love mercy, and walk humbly with 
God." 

Why should not the world to come, be to the 
good especially, transcendently attractive ? The 
Creator has certainly sought to render it so, in all 
the delineations of his word. It is presented to us 
as his own peculiar dwelling-place, where he will 
unveil himself, and manifest his glories, in visions 
more resplendent and enduring than have ever been 
conceived on earth. It is the world to which Jesus 
has gone, and where he ever lives, in his glorified 
human form. It is described to us as the home of 



14 INTKODUCTORY. 

angels, and the abode of the departed, and where 
the holy experience joys which never weary, and 
pleasures which are forever more. 

Are there no attractions in God? and none in 
him, who is the brightness of the Father's glory, and 
the express image of his person ? The heavens de- 
clare the glory of the Lord, and the firmament 
showeth forth his handiwork ; and this bright and 
beautiful universe, in which we live, was designed 
to shadow forth to creatures the attractive loveliness 
and glories of the Incomprehensible. But 0, if 
things seen, even amid the dim twilight of time, are 
often so exceedingly lovely and fascinating, what 
must the great source be from which all spring ? 

From the beauties and attractions of this present 
world, we may justly infer the surpassing loveliness 
and glories of the world to come. This is a lovely 
world, to any who have a mind sufficiently elevated 
and refined to enjoy it. How beautiful the moun- 
tain, and the valley — the running brook, — the flow- 
ing river and the rolling ocean I How pleasant the 
seasons with all their variations; and how well 
adapted, in their ever-changing forms to break up 
the monoton}^ of life, and fill the mind with a suc- 
cession of pleasurable emotions and contemplations. 
How kind, toe >, are the provisions of Providence, and 
how many aio the sources of innocent enjoyment 
continually opened for our gratification. How sweet, 
too, is human love to those whose hearts are attuned 
to harmony and friendship ! 

We can readily conceive, that were all sin re- 



INTRODUCTORY. 15 

moved from the present world, and those miseries 
which it has introduced, it might be an Eden — a 
garden of pleasures even now, which would fill the 
soul to overflowing. When, therefore, we are taught, 
that the present world is only designed as prepara- 
tory to one to come, far more glorious — the intro- 
duction to our immortal existence — the vestibule to 
the grand and eternal temple of life, into which we 
are soon to enter — we are justified in the inference, 
that the future must be far more beautifuland at- 
tractive than anything now seen or <3onceived. 

Accordingly, we find it recorded in Scripture,- that 
God has not only commanded us to set our affections 
on things above, and to seek them in preference to 
all others; but he has designedly employed those 
objects and things on earth, most desirable, beauti- 
ful, and attractive — as emblems of the glorious at- 
tractions and blessedness of the life to come. 

Among the things of earth more generally covet- 
ed than any other, is wealth. It stands as the 
representative of all earthly wants, and furnishes 
the means for those gratifications which are most 
dear to every one who longs for present pleasure. 
But riches are here deceitful. They cannot give the 
bliss for which men sigh, nor satisfy the cravings of 
an ever-aspiring mind. 

Now, to draw men upward, and to lead them to 
seek that preparation which is essential to the en- 
joyment of an endless life, Grod emplo3^s riches, 
great, unfading, and inexhaustible, as an emblem of 
those never-failing sources of happiness which are 



16 INTKODUCTORY. 

laid up in heaven for the holy. The world to come, 
with the glorious blessedness which pervades it, is 
represented to us as ^' true riclies^'^ as '^ a hetter and 
enduring substance^'''' as ^^ a?^ inheritance incorruptihle^ 
undefiled^ and that cannot fade away^^'' and as ^^treas- 
ures which no rust can corrupt^ and which no thieves 
can steaV 

How kindly and tenderly does God here address 
himself to all the lovers of riches, and how, by 
coming down to their comprehension, does he seek 
to invest that future world for which He has made 
them, with those attractions most likely to captivate 
and lead them away from those vain pursuits which 
must end in disappointment ! Unlike those of the 
present world, the riches of the future are true, un- 
fading, and ever-enduring. No fires can consume 
them — no thief steal them, and no exposure through 
eternity's long ages cause them to fade. In this 
respect, could the Lord have presented the world to 
come to us, more attractively ? 

Honor is also prominent with multitudes, as an 
object of intense desire. The voice of fame is so 
sweet, and enchanting — 

" That many tliink, to live without her song 
Is rather death than life. To live unknown, 
Unnoticed, unrenowned ! to die unpraised, 
Unepitaphed ! to go dawn to the pit, 
And moulder in the dust among vile worms, 
And leave no whispering of a name on earth ! — 
Such thought is cold about the heart, and chills 
The blood. Who can endure it ? who can choose 



INTRODUCTOEY. 17 

Without a struggle, to be swept away 

From all remembrance, and have part no more 

With living men ?" 

Hence, in every pursuit and department of life we 
see men eagerly engaged in seeking this shadowy 
phantom, and enduring immense toil and sacrifice to 
secure it. 

Now, to shadow forth the glorious attractions of 
the world to come, and to gain the ear of all who 
thirst for the honor that cometh from men, God 
employs honor as an emblem of the renowned dis- 
tinction and reward which will be conferred upon all 
who love him. It is promised to all such that they 
shall be ^^ kings and priests unto Grod^ arid shall reign 
with him forever and ever'''' — that they shall be in- 
troduced to the most honorable and glorious society, 
and be openly acknowledged and confessed before 
God and all his angels. Can human minds conceive 
of honors and distinctions more lofty, captivating or 
satisfying than are presented in these promises. If 
earthly fame then can enchant, and the honor of 
men lure to noble deeds, and to the highest achieve- 
ments, must not the world to come, according to the 
representations of Scripture, possess superior attrac- 
tions in all these respects, and more dazzling glories 
than gather in vain pomp and show around the 
courts and palaces of kings ? Accordingly, we are 
repeatedly exhorted to strive for glory and honor, 
by a faithful continuance in well-doing, and to seek 
the honor that cometh from God only. 



18 INTEODUCTORY. 

But the great mass of mankind who never rise to 
distinguished wealth or fame on earth, are intent on 
pleasure. All desire enjoyment of some kind, and 
eagerly pursue it as their passions and propensities 
dictate. To all such God cries, in his Word, " Ho, 
every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. 
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not 
bread? and your labor for that which satisfieth 
not? harken diligently unto me, and eat ye that 
which is good, and let your soul delight itself in 
fatness. In his presence is fulness of joy, at his right 
hand are pleasures for evermore." 

It is not our object to dwell upon the import of 
these promises in this connection. It will be the 
design of the following pages to unfold in order the 
attractions and powers of the world to come. Eef- 
erence is made to these things here, simply to show 
that God has sought, in all the emblematic repre- 
sentations of his Word, to invest the life to come 
with a loveliness and charm which attach to none 
of those things most highly prized and intensely 
sought on earth ; and that, therefore, the conclusion 
is exceedingly erroneous, that it is a joyless and 
gloomy life to have our affections set upon things 
above, and to be living continually in reference to 
these high honors and joys which God has prom- 
ised. Such a life is enlivened with hopes full of 
immortal glory, and with prospects of joy unspeak- 
able and unfading. 

In view of these things, we are not surprised to 
learn, from Scripture testimony, that to patriarchs 



INTEODUCTORY. 19 

and prophets, tlie promises and prospects of an im- 
mortal life possessed attractions sufficiently strong 
to overcome their love of earth — to conquer their 
fear of death, and to arm them with undying energy 
in their devotion to Grod, "that they might obtain a 
better resurrection." In comparison with the bet- 
ter life, which was the great object of their faith, 
earth had no charms. They " confessed that they 
were strangers and pilgrims on the earth — that they 
desired a better country, that is, a heavenly, and 
looked for a city which hath foundations whose 
builder and maker is Grod." 

Nor was the contemplation of the world to come, 
with all its terrors and illuminated glories, as 
brought to view in the gospel, sad or repulsive to 
the apostles and primitive Christians. Something 
of their views and joys may be learned from a few 
scriptural quotations. Peter says, " Blessed be the 
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, 
according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us 
again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of 
Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance 
incorruptible, and undeflled, and that fadeth not 
away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by 
the power of God through faith unto salvation, 
ready to be revealed in the last time ; wherein ye 
greatly rejoice, though now for a season, ye are in 
heaviness through manifold temptations : that the 
trial of your faith, being more precious than of gold 
that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might 
be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the 



20 IISTTROBUCTOEY. 

appearing of Jesus Christ : whom having not seen, 
ye love ; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet 
believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full 
of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the 
salvation of your souls." 

It is manifest from this, that to the apostle and 
those to whom he wrote, the realities and prospects 
of the world to come were all joyous, and drew them 
upward with an attraction which no gravitating 
power of earth could overcome. 

Such, too, were the convictions of Paul, in refer- 
ence to things unseen, that language seemed inade- 
quate to express his ever-kindling emotions, and 
enraptured persuasions, in prospect of the won- 
drous things to be revealed. On different occasions 
he calls them ^'' glory'''' — '^ a lueight of glorify — " afar 
more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory T In 
regard to all the advantages and happiness this world 
could bestow, he declares that he counted them all 
but dung that he might win Christ, and obtain a 
better resurrection. *^ Fori reckon," he says, '^ that 
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to 
be compared with the glory which shall be re- 
vealed in us." 

And these joyous exultations were common to 
primitive Christians, and enabled those, who through 
great tribulation were called to enter the kingdom 
of Grod, to rejoice that they were counted worthy to 
suffer shame for Christ in prospect of a participa- 
tion in the blessedness of his everlasting kingdom. 

These are not the dreams of visionaries, but the 



INTBODUCTORY. 21 

words of truth and soberness. A careful consider- 
ation of the revelations of Scripture in reference to 
this subject, in their order and infinite magnitude, 
will fully justify the most exulting joy, and the 
most ardent anticipation of which our natures are 
capable. 

The importance of fixed and abiding views of the 
world to come,, and such a living realization of 
eternal things, as shall lead us to live and act in 
reference to them, cannot be over-estimated. 

Every thing in religion — everything in respect to 
our highest happiness, turns upon our belief in, and 
our realization of a world to come. The gospel is 
unmeaning without it. As a remedy for sin, it can 
never be appreciated, and will never be accepted 
only as it is illuminated by the clear light of eter- 
nity, and viewed through an abiding faith in things 
unseen. Jesus will be precious only to those who 
believe, and his favor sought only as we expect 
soon to be with him, and share his glory. Sin will 
be esteemed an evil of magnitude, only as it is seen 
in the light of eternal realities, and contemplated 
in its ruinous consequences through unending dura- 
tion. The doctrines of repentance, regeneration, 
sanctification, and every truth of Scripture, derive 
their power and importance wholly from the world 
to come. It is only from motives thence derived 
that any can be moved or persuaded to a religious 
life, and to follow that holiness, without which no 
man shall see the Lord. And this, too, is the 
stalk upon which all true virtue on earth must be 



22 INTRODUCTORY. 

engrafted, and by which its life must be sustained. 
Without it, it will have but a sickly and precarious 
existence. 

There is no person, or class, to whom the world 
to come does not present attractions surpassingly 
beautiful and inspiring, if they were but seen in 
their own living light. But to the sons and daugh- 
ters of sorrow, especially, they present an effectual 
antidote for all life's woes. *' Blessed is he that 
readeth and understandeth." 

And then, too, unlike the present, the world to 
come is continually gaining in attractions. What a 
tide of human beings is setting thither ! How 
many of the great, and the good, and the loved, are 
constantly going I " Perhaps, thou hast a brother 
or a sister there; that should draw you towards 
heaven. Perhaps a mother — she whose eye wept 
while it watched over thee, until at length it grew 
dim, and closed. Perhaps one nearer, dearer than 
child, than brother, than mother, — the nearest, dear- 
est is there. Shall I say who. Christian female ? 
thy husband. Christian father, the young mother 
of thy babes. He is not. She is not ; for God took 
them. Has heaven no attractions ?" 



CHAPTER IL 

THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

" This is the bud of being, the dim dawn, 
The twilight of our day, the vestibule. 
Life's theatre as yet is shut, and death, 
Strong death, alone can heave the massy bar, 
This gross impediment of clay remove. 
And make us embryos of existence free. 
From real life, but little more remote 
Is he, not yet a candidate for light. 
The future embryo, slumbering in his sire. 
Embryos we must be till we burst the shell, 
Yon ambient azure shell, and spring to life, 
The life of Gods, transport, and of man." 

Young. 

THE ANXIOUS INQUIRY. 

" Man that is born of a woman is of few days, 
and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower 
and is cut down : he fleeth also as a shadow, and 
continueth not." How affectingly truthful and 
solemn are these words of the inspired. They have 
lost nothing of their significance or appropriate- 
ness through the long lapse of ages. The dark 
river of death still rolls continuously and cease- 
lessly onward, and the generations of men are hur- 



24 THE IMMOETALITY OF THE SOUL. 

ried away to that vast, shoreless, unfathomed ocean, 
wheiic-e none return. And how it comes home, as a 
startling and momentous reality — '' If I wait," even 
to the longest period of human life, ^' the grave is 
mine house." Corruption shall be my father, the 
worm my mother and my sister. ^' There is no 
discharge in this war." Not only the old, the de- 
crepid, the friendless, the miserable, for whom earth 
has no more joys or hopes, must die; but — 

" Our eyes have seen the rosy light 
Of youth's soft cheek decay, 
And fate descend in sudden night, 
On manhood's middle day." 

But what follows ? When death sunders all the 
ties of earth, and the grave closes upon us, and 
upon our friends, and hides us from the gaze or 
knowledge of the living, are we to see and embrace 
each other no more? Does life, like an expiring 
candle, go out in eternal darkness ? Long, long 
ago, the question was propounded with anxious so- 
licitude — if a man die, shall he live again ? '^ There 
is hope,'^ said the inquirer, ^' of a tree, if it be cut 
down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender 
branch thereof will not cease. Though the root 
thereof wax old in the earth, and the stalk thereof 
die in the ground, yet through the scent of water it 
will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But 
man dieth and wasteth away : yea man giveth up 
the ghost, and where is he ?" — Jb5, 14 : 7-10. Does 
he descend to earth, or rise to some spirit land ? 



NOT DISCOVEEED BY EEASON. 25 

Does he cease to exist, or in some disembodied or 
embodied form, outlive the wreck of his corruptible 
body, susceptible of pleasure and pain as now, in a 
new and higher sphere of being ? 

In every age of the world these, with many, have 
been questions of deep and anxious interest. But 
how can they, with certainty, be answered? Be- 
yond the grave v^e cannot see. An impenetrable 
veil is before us. With things unseen, and beyond 
the reach of our senses, we cannot hold converse 
as we can v^ith things of earth. Heaven designedly 
and wisely, and no doubt benevolently, has closed 
our sight and senses to things unseen. How then 
can we know, that when a man dies, he does or shall 
live again ? 

NOT DISCOVERED BY REASON. 

It is by no means certain that human reason and 
learning could ever have given a satisfactory answer 
independently of revelation. '^ The evidence which 
the light of reason and nature throws upon the great 
realities of the coming world, is indeed amazingly 
strong. Some of the loftiest minds of antiquity 
seemed to have a fore-shadowing of these great 
truths. Their attempts are remarkable, in many 
Tespects, as a display of comprehensive intellect, 
and acute powers of disquisition ; but they remain 
as monuments of the inability of minds, unaided by 
heavenly wisdom, to grasp the wonders of an unseen 
life." And then it is more than probable, that their 

2 



26 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

primary ideas respecting another life were derived 
from Divine Eevelation, communicated in the be- 
ginning, and which descended to the nations through 
tradition, and such other agencies as were appointed 
among his people in the institutions of religion. 
For, as Lord Bolingbroke acknowledges, '' the doc- 
trine of the immortality of the soul, and a future 
state of rewards and punishments, began to be 
taught before we have any light into antiquity. And 
when we begin to have any, we find it established 
that it was inculcated from times immemorial." 

And we find it equally prevalent among the most 
barbarous, as among the most civilized nations. '^ The 
ancient Sythians, Indians, Grauls, Germans, Britons, 
as well as the Greeks and Eomans, believed that 
souls are immortal, and that men sh^U live in an- 
other state after death, though it must be confessed 
their ideas of it were often very obscure." — Leland 
on Rev,, vol. ii., pp. 272-275. 

It is manifest from all this, that the doctrine of 
man's immortality is exceedingly old, and runs back 
beyond the memory of mankind. Whence was it de- 
rived ? Is there any more reasonable supposition, 
than from Divine Eevelation ? It is not disputed, 
that life and immortality are the great themes of the 
New Testament Scriptures ; but the belief has ex- 
tensively prevailed, that a future life was but indis- 
tinctly known, and dimly shadowed forth during the 
Old Testament dispensation. But was this the'fact ? 
When it is affirmed by the apostle, that Jesus Christ 
has abolished death, and brought life and immor- 



NOT DISCOVERED BY REASON. 27 

tality to light through the Gospel, 2 Tim, 1 : 10, a 
great and glorious truth is undoubtedly uttered. It 
is only through the gospel that eternal life is revealed 
to fallen man. The Gospel has been too narrowly 
interpreted by some, as having reference to the great 
doctrines and facts brought to view in the New Tes- 
tament. But the Gospel — the good news of salva- 
tion through Jesus Christ, in another life, and the 
glories of his future and eternal kingdom, was 
preached, we are assured, to Abraham, Gal, 3 : 8, 
and to the children of Israel in the wilderness, Heb, 
4:2. It was preached to Adam, and to Abel, to 
Enoch and' Noah, to Daniel and Isaiah, to all the 
saints of old, and to all who might have been saints, 
from the first promise of a Saviour given to Adam, 
down through all subsequent revelations. 

Of those who lived and died in the faith of the 
promises of future reward and blessedness given, the 
Apostle Paul says, Heh, 11: 13-16, ^' They confessed 
that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth — 
that they desired and sought a better country, that 
is, a heavenly — and that they looked for a city which 
hath foundation, whose builder and maker is God." 
And it is furthermore declared, that in all their fiery 
trials, and in the bitter persecutions waged against 
them, they would not accept deliverance, ^^ that they 
might obtain a better resurrection." 

It is clear from this, that the Old Testament saints, 
from the beginning, had as firm a persuasion of a 
future life, as any now have ; and that their views of 
its exceeding blessedness were so distinct and vivid, 



28 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

as to exert an all-controlling influence over their lives, 
and to lead them to live continnally in expectation 
of, and preparation for it. It had for them attrac- 
tion sufficiently beautiful and glorious to draw them 
upward with a power which no earthly temptations 
or enjoyments could weaken or destroy. 

Life and immortality are the great burden of the 
gospel whenever and wherever preached. It would 
indeed have been a strange, and an unaccount- 
able thing, had God left the world in darkness, in 
regard to that endless life for which man was made, 
until the time of the advent of our Lord. It would be 
a sad impeachment of the goodness and wisdom of the 
Creator, to suppose that he made man immortal, and 
designed him to prepare in this world for happiness 
in the future, and yet withheld from him the distinct 
knowledge of this great and cardinal truth of all re- 
ligion ; or left him to work out the problem of his 
own existence, through long ages of doubt, by his 
own feeble and darkened powers. 

But of no such folly and unkindness was the 
Creator guilty, as is manifest not only from Scripture, 
but from the fact that a belief in another life has ex- 
isted among all nations from time immemorial. 



ITS TRUE ORiam. 

When God created man, he no doubt communi- 
cated to him, in some certain way, the design of his 
creation, and the destiny of his being. And then 



ITS TEUE ORIGIN. 29 

all along down througli the developments of revela- 
tion, lie sought by miraculons and supernatural in- 
terposition, to give renewed assurance of another 
and a better life, and to impress it indelibly on the 
human mind. The great design in the translation 
of Enoch, a most eminent saint, to the other world, 
without passing through the gates of the grave, was 
to give to the world in its infancy, a visible, a living, 
and miraculous demonstration of the reality of a 
future life. 

And had the Creator, who seeks to draw men to 
himself, and to the higher destinies of their nature, 
wished to have impressed this truth most vividly 
upon the minds of men, how could he have done it 
more effectually, than by transferring one, towering 
in goodness above all others, to the regions of the 
blest, without seeing death ? 

The translation of one so great and good, would 
not only furnish a miraculous demonstration of an- 
other life ; but would intimate to the living, in 
clearest light, the character required to fit them for 
an entrance into a happy life. 

Enoch was no doubt translated in the presence of 
witnesses, who saw him go up, as the disciples saw the 
Saviour, and who would report the wondrous event 
to others, and they again to others, until it spread the 
world around, and men everywhere be led to inquire 
and study respecting another, and a separate state 
of existence. 

The world rolled on in its course after this, and 
generations came and went ; and then to revive 



80 THE IMMOETALITY OF THE SOUL. 

and strengthen the impressions heretofore made, God 
interposed again, with another miraculous demon- 
stration. Elijah, the prophet, eminently devoted and 
holy, was openly taken up to heaven, while Elisha, 
the man of God, in wrapt amazement and joy, ex- 
claimed, ^' My Father ! my Father ! The chariot of 
Israel and the horsemen thereof !" 2 Kings^ 2 : 11, 12. 
In those early times, and thence down through 
succeeding dispensations to the advent of our Lord, 
the attention of men was strongly and siipernatu- 
rally called to another world, by the frequent 
personal appearance and visible manifestation of 
angels, to bear to men some message of love, or to 
perform some deed of providence in the execution 
of Heaven's purpose. These angelic appearances 
could not but have had a powerful influence in call- 
ing attention, and thought, and inquiry to the 
unseen world. How naturally would men ask, 
Whence come these angels ? and whither do they 
go ? and where is the place of their abode ? And 
thus how irresistibly all these things would suggest 
and impress the idea of a world to come. 



CLEAKLY EEVEALED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

From these considerations it is manifest that there 
are much clearer revelations of a future life and its 
wondrous realities, in the writings of Moses and the 
prophets, than some have supposed. When Dives, 
as represented in the parable spoken by our Lord, 



CLEAELY REVEALED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. 31 

requested Abraham to send Lazarus to his brethren, 
to warn them lest they also come into that place of 
torment, Abraham rephed, ^' they have Moses and 
the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, 
nay, Father Abraham ; but if one went unto them 
from the dead, they would repent. And he said 
unto him. If they hear not Moses and the prophets, 
neither will they be persuaded though one rose from 
the dead.'^ 

This clearly shows that in the estimation of our 
Lord, the writings of Moses and the prophets abun- 
dantly revealed the reality of a future state of 
rewards and punishments, and were amply suflScient 
to satisfy any who were willing to be convinced, and 
to render them inexcusable in disregarding their 
warnings and required preparations. 

Every typical institution, and every sacrifice 
through which the believer looked to a coming 
Kedeemer and an atoning sacrifice, also directed him, 
as with the finger of God, to another life beyond the 
present; for without this great and all-pervading 
idea, the promises given of a Saviour, and every 
type referring to him, would have been soulless and 
unmeaning. Moses, then, and the prophets, are 
full of the world to come, as they are full of Jesus 
and redeeming love. 

When we come to the New Testament, no one 
doubts that here life and immortality are clearly and 
prominently revealed. In the teachings of our Lord, 
and in his own resurrection and glorious ascension, 
an illuminated glory is shed upon, all the themes of 



32 THE IMMOKTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

another life, ^' like another morn risen on mid-noon." 
The passage which declares that Jesus Christ has 
abolished death, and brought life and immortality 
to light through the gospel, probably has a more 
special reference to the resurrection of the dead, 
than to the reality of another life. Life and immor- 
tality, in respect to the resurrection of the dead, was 
indeed brought out to the light, when death and 
hades were led conquered, by a rising and ascending 
God. 

In the foregoing remarks, the object has been to 
show that the great idea of another and a better life 
did not originate in the penetration and reason of 
man, but was from the beginning a revelation from 
the Being who made us, and whose kindness would 
not permit him to keep the world in darkness re- 
specting the destiny for which man was created. 

But as all truth must be harmonious, and as the 
realities of a futare life, if true, must be in accord- 
ance with the nature of man, and with all his 
rational, moral, and immortal powers, it is easy, 
when the idea is fully suggested or revealed, to see 
its entire harmony with the nature and reason of 
man, and to argue its certainty from many plausible 
and possible considerations independent of Scrip- 
ture. The limits assigned to this work will permit 
only a brief statement of some of the more promi- 
nent arguments upon which reliance has been 
placed. 



ARGUMENT FROM LOVE OF EXISTENCE. 33 



ARGUMENT FROM UNIVERSAL ASSENT. 

1. The immortality of the soul has been argued 
from the assent of all nations to its truth. Though 
men have differed widely respecting the nature, the 
employments, and enjoyments of a world to come, 
it cannot be disputed that the grand idea of the 
soul's immortality has, with a few exceptions among 
the more barbarous tribes of Africa, been universally 
received. And all this shows not only that the mind 
of man universally is receptive of the full idea of 
another life, but that it is in harmony with his in- 
stinctive nature, or it could not find so ready an 
admission. But however this general consent may 
be accounted for, or to whatever source it may be 
attributed, it certainly forms a strong presumptive 
argument in favor of a better life. Cicero long since 
observed ; '^ In everything the consent of all nations 
is to be accounted the law of nature, and to resist it, 
is to resist the voice of God.^' 



ARGUMENT FROM LOVE OF EXISTENCE. 

2. The immortality of the soul has been argued 
with great force and plausibility, from man's inward 
dread naturally of annihilation, and from those 
longing desires for life, and pleasing hopes, which 
the idea of a blissful future awakens. 

It is true this fond desire, these pleasing hopes, 
2* 



84 THE IMMOETALITY OF THE SOUL. 

are not universal. With some who have received nn- 
scriptural views of another life, and who have little 
hope respecting the future, an endless life has no 
attractions. They would rather lie silently in the 
grave, than ever awaken to life. And to others 
whose wickedness leads them to look for a fiery in- 
dignation, nothing would be more Welcome than an 
assurance of an entire extinction of their being at 
death. But it is believed that this is not the com- 
mon feeling. With most, there is a desire of immor- 
tality — an inward longing for a life, higher and 
better than earth can give. The soliloquy which 
Addison puts into the mouth of Cato, has force and 
beauty in it, and is descriptive of a common senti- 
ment: 

" It must be so — Plato, thou reasonest well ! 
Else whence this pleasing hope, this fond desire, 
This longing after immortality ? 
Or whence this secret dread, and inward horror, 
Of falling into nought ? Why shrinks the soul 
Back on herself, and startles at destruction? 
'Tis the divinity that stirs within us, 
'Tis heaven itself that points out an hereafter 
And intimates eternity to man.'' 

Has the Creator, then, so constituted the human 
mind that these strong desires — these pleasing hopes 
— these earnest longings after a future life, may 
arise and be indulged only that they may be ex- 
tinguished in eternal night and disappointment ? 
Or does not rather the fact, that these things are in 
accordance with the native instincts of the mind, 



ARGUMENT FROM LOVE OF EXISTENCE. 35 

clearly indicate the reality of a life beyond the con- 
fines of the grave ? 

Would wings be folded in the worm, if they were 
not one day to enable it to fly ? Would thought 
continually reach out into the future, if one day we 
were not to explore that ^'dim distant?" Would 
the heart, at times, be seized with longings not of 
this earth, if these longings had not a full realization 
somevv^here ? How else would the great mystery 
of human life be solved ? What an anomaly man 
would be, with all his undying aspirations and 
powers, amid the creatures of God, were he not, in 
accordance with his nature, immortal ? 

But not only our love of existence — our longing 
after immortality — but our anxiety to become ac- 
quainted with things which are dimly shadowed 
forth in the surrounding universe, and which we 
know to exist, intimates a future life. For exam- 
ple, who that has the least knowledge of astronomy, 
and whose soul has been kindled by the conjectures 
which revolving worlds and systems have excited, 
has not sometimes felt an irrepressible desire to 
know something more definite of the character of 
those worlds, of their geography and inhabitants ; 
and the mysterious agencies and laws w^hich are 
seen ai work among them ? It is but a little that 
the wisest now know. Death commonly puts an 
end to their career, while they are yet upon the 
very threshold of nature's grand temple of knowl- 
edge, and eagerly desiring to look into things un- 
seen. Attraction, gravitation, electricity, magaet- 



36 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

ism, and the like, are names given to agencies and 
laws, which elude the grasp of man, and are, in 
many respects, at present unsearchable. In the 
simplest things in nature, and in the most common 
productions, there are mysteries which the learning 
of ages has not yet been able to solve, but in regard 
to which every intelligent mind longs to be informed. 
Must there not be another life then, when an op- 
portunity will be given to satisfy these desires, and 
unfold those things upon which our eyes intently 
gaze for a moment before they are dimmed in 
death. Can it be, that with these desires for know- 
ing, kindled by God's own works, we sink into no- 
thing when death dissolves our connection with 
present things? How cruel it would be, thus to 
deal with man — to place above and around him such 
wonderful and glorious objects, and to excite such a 
thirst for knowledge, and then never give the op- 
portunity of knowing — but set him down just as he 
begins to look, and know, and inquire ! It cannot 
be. Goodness and wisdom forbid it. These indica- 
tions and yearnings of nature, point with an unerr- 
ing finger, to a life which never dies — and a career 
which never terminates. The objector must main- 
tain that life is a great cheat, if this is not so — and 
that God is capable of playing off upon the human 
race so great a deception — ^as to excite desires which 
are never to be gratified — to enkindle hopes which 
are never to be realized, and to excite within him 
immortal instincts which point to no real object and 
ensure no valuable end. 



ARGUMENT FROM INSTINCT. 37 



ARGUMENT FROM INSTINCT. 

There is one consideration intimated in what has 
been said, which is worthy of a more extended con- 
sideration. In all the works of God, i^ cannot be 
discovered, that he has made anything in vain, 
when the use and reason of things are understood. 
Every natural or animal instinct, we know, has an 
end for which it was designed, and to which it 
points ; and the end therefore of the instinct, or the 
object it was intended to accomplish, is as certain in 
its existence, as is the natural and spontaneous prin- 
ciple that implies it. 

Thus, in every animal there is an instinct, whether 
herbivorous or carnivorous, to a particular kind of 
food, which sj)rings not from reason or education ; 
and a bodily apparatus, most wisely and delicately 
adjusted, for procuring the food to which the in- 
stinct leads. Water fowls have a native instinct 
for water, and for the food thence to be attained, 
and everything is provided for and adapted to their 
instinct. And so through universal nature. As 
the cold winter draws on, instinct leads most of the 
feathered tribe to seek a shelter from the blast they 
could not endure in some warmer and more genial 
clime. And such a clime exists most benevolently 
corresponding to their instinctive wants, where a . 
warm sun, and '^ never-failing spring abides." How 
beautiful and wise the arrangement. How surely 
does every native instinct and desire indicate the 



88 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

certain existence of that to which it points. And 
hence it seems a clear and certain inference^ that 
these pleasing hopes, which spring eternal in the 
human heart — these longings after immortality, — 
which the annunciations of an endless life inspire, 
have their .appropriate end, and as surely prove a 
future life, as any instinct in nature demonstrates the 
existence of its object. How could the Creator have 
indicated an hereafter to man more clearly, in the 
arrangements of nature, than in these desires, and 
hopes, and aspirations of the human mind ? 

As the tender bird seeks in a more genial clime 
a shelter from the cold, and finds it, so will we, who 
long for some sunny cHme away from the wintry 
storms of life, as surely find the object of our 
hopes. 

ARGUMENT FROM THE POWERS OF MIND. 

The immortality of the soul has been often ar- 
gued from the wonderful powers and capabilities 
of the human intellect, and its susceptibility of, to 
us, indefinite improvement. See, for example, 
what a vast difference there is between the infant 
and the man of forty or sixty years, in the midst of 
his career of improvement and fame. What pro- 
ficiency in knowledge is made, what intellectual 
grasp is developed during these short years ! To 
what heights of intellectual greatness did Newton, 
Laplace, Herschell, and hosts of others eminent in 
the State, and in every department of science, at- 



AEGUMENT FROM THE POWEES OF MIKD. 39 

tain during their sojourn on earth ! And with more 
ordinary minds, and a more common zeal, how 
many things are learned, how much knowledge ac- 
quired in the course of life ! And there is mani- 
festly no limit to intellectual improvement and de- 
velopment this side the grave, when appropriate 
effort is made for its accomplishment. Unobstructed 
by disease or accident, knowledge may be acquired 
every day, and a man may continue to rise higher 
and higher in the ever-widening grasp of his ex- 
panding mind. 

Now give human minds free scope, remove the 
obstructions of disease and death, place an immortal 
career before them, and around them God's won- 
derful works and ways, infinite and incomprehen- 
sible, as incentives to thought and study, and who 
can imagine the greatness of intellectual develop- 
ment and expansion to which they may attain ? 

They may reach the highest point to which an 
archangel has ever yet attained ; and as the eagle, 
with his eye resting on the sun, and his wings upon 
the wind, mounts steadily upward towards the bright 
orb, till lost in the effulgence of its blaze ; so human 
minds, carreering on beyond where Gabriel now 
stands or soars in heaven's own light, may in intel- 
lectual and moral progress direct their way towards 
the creative mind, though never able to reach the 
Infinite. The powers and capabilities of the human 
mind are wonderful and past finding out, as is 
manifest in all the discoveries of science, and in all 
the advancement and inventions of art. And now 



40 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

is it not reasonable to infer that minds so admirably 
constituted and endowed, must be designed for some- 
thing higher than this world affords ? Is it not in 
accordance with the wisdom and goodness of God, 
and with the nature of the human mind, to infer 
that it is immortal, and destined, according to its 
capabilities, to an unending career? What an im- 
peachment it would be of the wisdom and goodness 
of God to suppose that he had created minds, with 
'such vast and inconceivable powers, only that he 
might dash them, v/ith their frail tabernacles, in 
pieces at death — that he had lighted up such intel- 
lectual lamps, beaming forth, even amid the dark- 
ness and obstructions of earth, with surpassing bril- 
liancy and beauty, only that he might quench them 
in the gloomy night of annihilation. 

*^How can it enter into the thought of man, that 
the soul which is capable of such immense perfection, 
and of receiving new improvements to all eternity, 
shall fall away into nothing almost as soon as cre- 
ated ? Are such abilities made for no purpose ? A 
brute arrives at a point of perfection which he can 
never pass. In a few years he has all the endow- 
ments he is capable of; and were he to live ten thou- 
sand more, would be the same thing he is at present. 
Were a human soul thus at a stand in her accomplish- 
ments, were her faculties to be full blown, and in- 
capable of further enlargement, I could imagine it 
might fall away insensibly, and drop at once into a 
state of annihilation. But can we believe a think- 
ing being, that is in a perpetual progress of improve- 



ARGUMENT FROM THE POWERS OF MIND. 41 

ment, and travelling on from perfection to perfec- 
tion, after having jnst looked abroad into the works 
of the Creator, and made a few discoveries of his 
infinite goodness, wisdom, and power, must perish 
in her first setting out, and in the very beginning of 
her inquiries ?" — Spectator^ vol. ii. 

What a lavish expenditure it would be, to give 
man such powers only to be cast down and annihi- 
lated ! Suppose a man should construct, at great 
expense, a succession of machines, capable of accom- 
plishing wonderful things, and then just as he had 
put them in operation, should dash them successively 
in pieces — what would be thought of him ? Who 
would not stand amazed at his folly, and at the im- 
mense waste of time, materials, and property ? Such 
folly and loaste do those attribute to the Creator who 
deny man's immortal existence. If there is not a 
higher life for man, God really does more for the 
brute than the intelligent. Excluding violence, ani- 
mals commonly live out their day, until they become 
incapable of more enjoyment. And then, too, they 
are free from those corroding anxieties, and fearful 
apprehensions Avhich so often prey upon human 
minds. But man, after a life of anxiety and toil, is 
cut down in a moment, before he reaches the sum- 
mit of desire, and before he accomplishes his wished- 
for end. Can it be that God does better for the 
beasts, than for man made in his image ? Is it not a 
far more rational conclusion, drawn from all these 
facts, and in entire harmony with the dictates of in- 
finite wisdom and love — that the soul of man is im- 



42 THE IMMOETALITY OF THE SOUL. 

mortal ? — that when his merely anh-nal nature dies, 
and sinks to earth, his spirit will rise to a higher and 
more perfect sphere of being ? 

Such a destiny seems necessary to meet the de- 
mands of his nature, and to vindicate the wisdom 
and goodness of God in his creation. 



AEOUMENT FEOM INEQUALITIES IN PEOYIDENCE. 

The reality of a future life has been often and 
justly argued, from its necessity to vindicate the 
rectitude and benevolence of the Divine character 
and government in the unequal distribution of re- 
wards and punishments in the present world. 

Man comes into the world a helpless, and an im- 
perfect being. He spends his infancy in obedience 
to his mere animal instincts, and his childhood and 
youth, for the most part, in folly and sin ; and from 
the cradle, is not un frequently doomed to uninter- 
rupted disappointment, and bodily and mental suf- 
fering. " He is born to trouble as the sparks fly 
upward," and these come alike to the virtuous and 
the vicious. If God is just, and his government is 
founded in rectitude, and his providences are di- 
rected by equal and benevolent laws, we might 
reasonably suppose that men would prosper in life, 
and be exempt from trouble, affliction and sorrow, 
accordingly as they were righteous ; and that, on the 
other hand, they would be rendered unprosperous, 
and suffer loss and sorrow in proportion to their 



INEQUALITIES OF PEOVIDENCE. 43 

sins. There can, in reality, be no even-handed jus- 
tice — no impartial equity, where this great principle 
of government is not consistently and perfectly car- 
ried out. 

But no such law, as a perfect, general, and un- 
deviating rule, can be traced in the Divine adminis- 
tration in the present world. Th6ugh the vicious 
often suffer the consequences of their conduct, and 
the good often reap the peaceable fruits of virtue, yet 
we cannot turn and discern between the righteous 
and the wicked, from any developments of provi- 
dence in their external prosperity, sufferings, or en- 
joyments. How often are the industrious and honest 
defeated in all their plans, and their hard-earned 
wages wrested from them, by dishonesty or misfor- 
tune, 3vhile the dishonest, and intriguing, and un- 
principled are seemingly successful in all their plans 
and efforts, and prosper as the evergreen, whose 
leaf no chilling frost, or blasting wind, a wintry 
storm withers. How often are modesty and real 
worth overlooked, or put down by popular clamor ; 
while the ofl&cious, the conceited, the proud and 
vicious are courted and exalted to places of trust, 
power and oppulence. How many virtuous and 
pious poor pine in solitude, and want, and neglect ; 
while luxury, and sensuality, and prodigality revel 
amid princely grandeur and dishonest gain, in the 
mansions of the wicked. For how many long cen- 
turies have oppression and tyranny been suffered to 
hold their cruel and crushing sway over the liberties 
and rights of millions ; turning into a blight the 



44 THE IMMOETALITY OF THE SOUL. 

blessings, civil, temporal, and spiritual, which God 
designed to flow to man free and full as rivers of 
water. 

These and other unnumbered inequalities in the 
administration of providence, have often exceedingly 
perplexed the minds of the wise and good in every 
age, and have sometimes led men to doubt or deny 
the existence of a superintending, directing God, in 
the affairs of men. Holy men of old felt, in their 
own experience, the full force of these perplexing 
difficulties. The Psalmist says, ^^ But as for me, my 
feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh 
slipped ; when I saw the prosperity of the wicked," 
Ps. 73 : 2, 3. Jeremiah saj^s, 12 : 1, ^'Eighteous art 
thou, Lord, when I plead with thee : let me talk 
with thee of thy judgments: wherefore doth the 
way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all 
they happy that deal very treacherously ? Thou 
hast planted them, yea, they have taken root : they 
grow, yea, they bring forth fruit : thou art near in 
their mouth, and far from their reins." Habakkuk 
says, 1 : 13, " Thou art of purer eyes than to behold 
evil, and canst not look upon iniquity : wherefore 
lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously ; 
and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth 
the man that is more righteous than he ?" 

Now, who that leaves out of view a future life can 
solve these difficulties, in the government of a just 
and benevolent God ? Who can show that there is 
rectitude, wisdom, or goodness in the Creator, if it 
is the whole of life to live only amid the ineq ualities, 



DELIGHTFULLY ATTRACTIVE. 45 

trials, and sufferings of the present world? The 
anxious mind says, there must be another life, if 
God is just and good — a life where all that is at 
present discordant and unequal shall be harmonized, 
and adjusted to principles of strictest equity. Such 
a life is essential to vindicate the character of God 
with men ; and such a life as is revealed in Scrip- 
ture will do it in perfection and beauty. 

" Ye vainly wise ! ye blind presumptuous ! ISTow, 
Confounded in the dust, adore that power, 
And wisdom oft arraign'd : see now the cause, 
Why unassuming worth in secret liv'd 
And died neglected : why the good man's share 
In life was gall and bitterness of soul : 
Why the lone widow and her orphans pin'd 
In starving solitude; while luxury, 
In palaces, lay straining her low thoughts, 
To form unreal wants : why heaven-born truth, 
And moderation fair, wore ilie red marks 
Of superstition's scourge : why licens'd pain, 
That cruel spoiler, that embosomed foe, 
Embitter'd all our bliss. Ye good distress'd ! 
Ye noble few ! who here unbending stand 
Beneath life's pressure, yet bear up awhile, 
And what your bounded view, which only saw 
A little part, deem'd evil is no more : 
The storms of wintry time will quickly pass, 
And one unbounded Spring encircle all." 

— Thompson. 



DELIGHTFULLY ATTRACTIVE. 

V'iewed in this aspect, how delightful and attrac- 
tive the prospects of a future world. It is only a 



46 THE IMMOETALITY OF THE SOUL. 

little part of the plans and ways of God we can now 
see. They are only here developed in embryo, and 
we must see their end and reason before we can 
wisely judge of their rectitude, wisdom, and good- 
ness. The government of God is a wheel within a 
wheel, vast, majestic, complicated, and eternal, and 
it will need an endless life to develop it to the com- 
prehension and admiration of creatures. The voices 
of nature, everything within and around us, seem to 
suggest the idea of a future life. We feel that a 
fact upon which Scripture and reason so harmoni- 
ously blend, and shed their purest light, must be true. 
We accept it as a glorious hope, that man is immortal. 
Amid the disappointments, the anxieties, the 
troubles, and sorrows of the present world, the 
attractions of a future life, as presented in the Word 
of God, are exceedingly great and joyous. When 
contrasted v/ith the dark and cheerless prospect of 
the unbeliever, a belief in a future state addresses 
itself with longing desire, and delightful hope, to all 
the higher and purer principles of our nature. It is 
said that Beattie, the poet and philosopher, at one 
period of his life was involved in the darkness of 
scepticism ; and that being afterwards converted to 
the enlivening, ennobling hope of another life, he 
wrote his Hermit, as descriptive of his own experi- 
ence before and after his deliverance. Though 
familiar to every school-boy, its insertion may be 
the more welcome on this account, and serve better 
to illustrate the superior attractions of the world to 
come. 



DELIGHTFULLY ATTKACTIVE. 47 

"At the close of the day, wheu tlie hamlet is still, 

And mortals the sweets of forgetfulness prove ; 
When naught but the torrent is heard on the hill, 

And naught but the nightingale's song in the grove. 
'Twas thus by the cave of the mountain afar, 

While his harp rung symphonious, a hermit began, 
No more with himself or with nature at war, 

He thought as a sage, though he felt as a man. 

Ah ! why all abandoned to darkness and woe ; 

Why, lone Philomela, that languishing fall? 
For spring shall return, and a lover bestow; 

And sorrow no longer thy bosom enthral. 
But, if pity inspire thee, renew the sad lay — 

Mourn, sweetest complainer, man calls thee to mourn ; 
O, soothe him whose pleasures, like thine, pass away ; 

Full quickly they pass — but they never return. 

Now gliding remote, on the verge of the sky, 

The moon, half extinguished, her crescent displays ; 
But lately I mark'd, when majestic on high. 

She shone, and the planets were lost in her blaze. 
Roll on then fair orb, and with gladness pursue 

The path that conducts thee to splendor again ; 
But man's faded glory, what change shall renew ? 

Ah, fool ! to exult in a glory so vain. 

'Tis night, and the landscape is lovely no more ; 

I mourn, but, ye woodlands, I mourn not for you; 
For morn is approaching, your charms to restore. 

Perfumed with fresh fragrance, and glitt'ring with dew ; 
Nor yet for the ravage of winter I mourn ; 

Kind nature, the embryo blossom will save; 
But when shall spring visit the mould'ring urn ? 

O, when shall day dawn on the night of the grave ? 

'Twas thus by the glare of false science betray'd 
That leads to bewilder ; and dazzles to blind ; 

My thoughts went to roam from shade onward to shade, 
Destruction before me, and sorrow behind. 



48 THE IMMOETALITY OF THE SOUL. 

O, pity, great Father of light, then I cried, 
Thj creature, who fain would not wander from thee ? 

Lo, humbled in dust, I reUnquish my pride ; 

From doubt and from darkness thon only canst free. 

And darkness and doubt are now flying away; 

^o longer I roam in conjecture forlorn; 
So breaks on the traveller, faint and astray, 

The bright and the balmy effulgence of morn. 
See truth, love, and mercy, in triumph descending, 

And nature all glowing in Eden's first bloom 1 
On the cold cheek of death, smiles and roses are blending, 

And beauty immortal, awakes from the tomb." 



Thus we seCj that ^' In opposition to the despond- 
ing reflections and gloomy views of the sceptic, 
it inspires the virtuous mind with a lively hope, 
and throws a glorious radiance over the scenes 
of creation, and over every part of the government 
of the Almighty. It presents before us an un- 
bounded scene, in which we may hope to contem- 
plate the scheme of Providence in all its objects and 
bearings, where the glories of the divine perfec- 
tions will be illustriously displayed, where the 
powers of the human mind will be perpetually ex- 
panding, and new objects of sublimity and beauty 
incessantly rising to view, in boundless perspective, 
worlds without end. It dispels the clouds which 
hang over the present and future destiny of man, 
and fully accounts for those longing looks into futu- 
rity which accompany us, at every turn, and those 
capacious powers of intellect, which cannot be fully 
exerted in the present ]ife."~i)^c^. 
3 



DELiaHTFULLY ATTRACTIVE. 49 

This doctrine, then, gives an importance and a 
dignity to the existence and destiny of man, sur- 
passingly grand and attractive. How vain a thing 
is human hfe, and how miserable a creature is 
man, if this life is the whole of his being ! What 
really valuable end does he answer ? What accom- 
plish ? All the noblest achievments of his intellect 
are nothing in fact, if life is extinguished at death. 
Virtue and vice then are empty names, and all that 
is called good or great in the world, is nothing ele- 
vated above the poorest reptile that creeps beneath 
his feet. But admitting man's future and endless 
life, what transcendant dignity and importance invest 
his existence even on earth ? 

Xothing could give more dignity, beauty, and 
consistency to human life than the prospects of an 
endless life beyond the grave. Let a man set this 
life to come before him as his great end, amid the 
trials and vicissitudes of time ; let its bright hopes, 
and cheering prospects, animate him amid earth's 
sufferings and toils ; and let him, having respect to 
the recompense of reward, cultivate that purity and 
rectitude of character in all things, v/hich shall fit 
him most certainly for its enjoyment, and we could 
not conceive that he could pursue a more sublime 
and ennobling course. Can any object of earth 
be imagined equal to it, in glorious and attractive 
excellence? ye vain grandeurs of courts ! Ye 
sounding titles of kings, peers, nobles, senators, and 
presidents ! Ye glittering and perishable wealth, so 
much coveted and adored ! Ye gilded, vain and 

3 



50 THE IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

momentary pleasures of earth, what have ye to com- 
pare with the ennobling powers, and unfolding at- 
tractions of an immortal and endless life ! What 
relief or consolation can ye give a dying mortal, 
when he is forced to descend into the dark valley 
whither ye cannot go ; and where alone he must 
launch away into the unknown ? 

The great and the rich may have a splendid pas- 
sage to the grave ; they may die in state, and lan- 
guish under a gilded canopy ; they may expire on 
soft and downy pillows, and be respectfully attended 
by servants and physicians, and friends ready to 
render any aid or relief within the reach of human 
kindness or skill ; but, oh ! who of these will de- 
scend with them into the dark prison of the grave ? 
And what real dignity can all this external wealth 
and pomp confer upon a loathsome corpse, which 
we cannot bear, and must bury from our sight ? If 
the dead sleep in oblivion, and around all the future 
hang the dark and dismal clouds of gloomy annihi- 
lation, and man rises no more to higher scenes, what 
real attractions are there in all that earth calls good 
or great ? What advantage then hath a man over 
the brute, or the insect, which flutters for its day in 
the sun-beams, and is no more ? What real dignity, 
wealth, or beauty, attach to his being? 

But suppose him now a candidate for an undying 
life, and that when he dies, there is a principle, liv- 
ing and immortal within, which rises, like the insect 
bursting forth from its chrysalis, to a more free and 
delightful sphere of being— and what beauty, glory, 



THERE IS HOPE FOR THE GUILTY. 51 

and nobleness, does it give to his existence even 
amid the imperfections of the present world. 

How strange that any should wish to deny or dis- 
prove the souPs immortal destiny. Even supposing 
it a phantom, its delusion is infinitely more pleasing 
than the dreary prospects of the dark gulf of annihi- 
lation. 

The bright hope which it inspires can sweeten 
every bitter cup of life, can soothe the asperities of 
affliction, render adversity joyous, and prompt man 
to purest and noblest deeds of virtue and goodness. 
Hence, then, ye profane ! If the idea of another life 
is a delusion, let me alone amid its fancies. They 
are SAveeter than the realities of life ; they draw with 
cords more soft than silken ; and possess attractions 
more strong than the central orb of light. 

THERE IS HOPE FOR THE GUILTY. 

It is true, that to the wicked, conscious of guilt, 
and fearful of judgment and retribution, a future life 
presents no attractions. But were such sure of a 
life of blessedness, how Vv ould the idea of immortal- 
ity thrill the soul amid life's pilgrimage ! How would 
it sweeten every bitter cup, and render joyous every 
trial and sorrow. But why may not all indulge this 
pleasing hope ? Why not all look for glory and 
blessedness in a life to come ? Does not mercy beck- 
on in the gospel ? and hope invite ? and wisdom cry 
aloud, — ''Let the wicked forsake his way, and the 
unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him return 



52 THE IMMOKTALITY OF THE SOUL. 

unto the Lord, and lie will have mercy upon Mm ; 
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon?" 
Is, 55 : 7. ^' As I live, saith the Lord God, I have 
no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; but that 
the wicked turn from his way and live: turn 
ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will 
ye die?" Ez, 33: 11. ^^And the Spirit and the 
bride say come. And let him that heareth say 
come. And let him that is athirst come. And 
whosoever will let him take the water of life freely." 
Rev, 22: 17. ^'Ho, then, every one that thirsteth, 
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, 
come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come buy wine and 
milk, without money and without price. Is. 55 : 1. 
" Come now, and let us reason together, saith the 
Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be 
as white as snow ; though they be red like crimson, 
they shall be as wool." Is. 1 : 18. Why, then, will 
any die? Why need any despond? With such 
assurances of infinite love and mercy, why will not 
the wicked turn from his sins, and then look with 
undying joy and unbounded hope to heaven's pure 
and unending delights? If we would avoid the 
miserable consequences of sin here^ we must forsake 
and turn from it, and so we must if we would escape 
its condemning power in an endless life. A mind 
conscious of impurity and crime cannot be happy 
here ; it would not in heaven ; it will not be in hell. 
There is no way, then, to avoid it but by repentance, 
and that faith in Jesus Christ which, in its practical 
results, purifies the heart, and fits for heaven. 



THEEE IS HOPE FOR THE GUILTY. 53 

how should this hope of our immortal life in- 
spire us with ceaseless desire and effort to escape sin, 
and every polluting principle and impure affection 
within us, and lead us day by day to seek that sanc- 
tifying grace which the gospel reveals, and that life 
of love, holiness, and obedience to Grod's commands, 
which, according to scripture and reason, give the 
only sure title to happiness. 



CHAPTER IIL 



THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 



' The star that sets 



Beyond the western wave, is not extinct ; 

It brightens in another hemisphere, 

And gilds another evening with its rays. 

O glorious hope of immortality ! 

At thought of thee, the coffin and the tomb 

Affright no more, and e'en the monster Death, 

Loses his fearful form, and seems a friend. 

At thought of thee, my eager, glowing heart 

Lets go its hold on sublunary bliss, 

And longs to drop this cumbrous clog of earth, 

And soar to bliss unfading and secure." 

It is not enougli for ns to know assuredly that 
there is another life to which man's spiritual nature 
shall rise, when the dissolution of his material shall 
remove him from the sphere of the living on earth. 
We need something more. We might know all 
this, and yet be in distressing doubt and gloomy 
suspense respecting the state of the soul in that 
separate and unseen world. To die then would in- 
deed be taking a leap in the dark — would be launch- 
ing away upon a dark and unknown ocean, with no 
sun, or star, or compass to guide. 



THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 55 

" To die ; — to sleep ; — 
To sleep? peixihauce to dream; aye, there's the rub; 
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come 
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, 
Must give us pause !" 

The uncertainty here intimated, respecting the 
condition of the soul in another life, is indeed dis- 
tressing to every reflecting mind, and may well 
cause one to shrink back in — 

*' Dread of something after death, — 
The undiscovered country, from whose bourne 
No traveller returns." 

Hence we find that in every age numbers have 
resorted to fortune-tellers, astrologers, and magicians, 
not only, if possible, to discover the future events 
of life, but to unveil the unknown future world. 
And in our own day, how many eagerly run after 
the variously professed spiritual mediums to get 
some news from the spirit-land, and to learn some- 
thing certainly respecting the state and condition 
of the departed. The desire thus manifested is na- 
tural, and it shows how anxious the human mind^ 
is to know the future. 

Now, it is believed that the Scriptures not only 
reveal all that is necessary to regulate our conduct 
in reference to another life, and to sustain us under 
the trials and burdens of the present ; but that they 
make known to us a scheme of future existence ra- 
tional, consistent, beautiful and grand, and adapted 
to all the wants and aspirations of the mind, and to 



56 THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 

dissipate all uncertainty respecting the condition of 
the departed. These Scriptures constitute a more 
sure word of prophecy than all clairvoyant or 
mesmeric pretensions, *' unto which ye do well that 
ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark 
place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in 
your hearts."— 2 Peter^ 1 : 19. And well would it 
have been for the world had men been content to 
follow this ^^ sure word," instead of those ignesfatui 
which float amid the marshes and bogs of honest, it 
may "fcye, but disturbed imaginations. 



A COMMON ERROR. 

Various errors and vain conceits respecting the 
condition and destiny of man in the world to come 
have gained currency among professed Christians, 
from inattention to the revelations of heaven as a 
whole, or from seeking to reduce the teachings of 
Scripture to a pre-conceived theory, and mingling 
with them the deductions of their own philosophy. 
• One prominent error which prevails, and which 
is very commonly taught, is, that the departed, im- 
mediately after death, are judged^ and enter at once 
upon their glorious and eternal reward. If the 
reader has been taught thus to believe, let him not 
be startled, when we affirm, that this view of the 
future is most clearly contradicted in Scripture. 
The great and peculiar reward of the righteous, as 
well as the sentence of the wicked, are not at, or 



A COMMON EEROR. 57 

immediately after death, but at the second coming 
of our Lord — the resurrection of the dead, and the 
final judgment. So commonly and frequently is 
this presented in Scripture as a great and important 
fact, that it is surprising that it should ever have 
been overlooked. Let the following Scriptures be 
diligently pondered : — 

Litke^ 14 : 18-14, "But when thou makest a feast, 
call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind ; and 
thou shalt be blessed : for they cannot recompense 
thee ; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrec- 
tion of the justy There is no allusion here to death, 
as the time at which they are to be rewarded ; but 
overlooking all intermediate states, or events, our 
Lord refers the just directly and only to the resur- 
rection^ as the time when they should be recom- 
pensed for all their charities and labors of love. 

Luhe^ 20 : 84-36, " And Jesus answering, said 
unto them. The children of this world marry, and 
are given in marriage : but they which shall be 
counted worthy to obtain that world, and the resur- 
rection of the dead, neither marry, nor are given in 
marriage : neither can they die any more : for they 
are equal unto the angels ; and are the children of 
God, being the children of the resurrection^^ In this 
passage, also, it is seen that the great and peculiar 
rewards of the righteous are associated only with 
the resurrection ; and if this is true, their reward 
cannot be at death. 

Acts^ 24:15, "And have hope toward God, 
which they themselves also allow, that there shall 

3* 



58 THE IJS^TEEMSDIATE STATE. 

be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and 
unjust." This shows that the hope of the apostle, 
respecting future blessedness, was intimately asso- 
ciated with the resurrection. See, also, Acts^ 26:6. 
2 Tim, 4 : 6-8, '^ For I am now ready to be 
offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I 
have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, 

1 have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up 
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 
the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day^ and 
not to me only, but unto all them, also, who love 
his appearing.''^ It is clear from this, that the apostle 
did not expect his crown until the resurrection-day 
— the day of Christ's glorious appearing. And if 
his expectation was according to truth, then he has 
not yet received the crown for which he contended ; 
but is even now waiting in some state of happy and 
glorious expectancy. The same is taught in Titus, 

2 : 11-14. 

i Peter, 1 : 8-7, '' Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his 
abundant mercy, has begotten us again unto a lively 
hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the 
dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, 
and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for us, 
who are kept by the power of God, through faith 
unto salvation, ready to he revealed in the last timey 
And this last time is explained in verse seventh, to 
denote the appearing of Jesus Christ. Death is not 
alluded to here ; but beyond this the eye of the be- 
liever is directed to the second personal appearing 



A COMKOK ERROR. 59 

of Christ, as the time when the inheritance reserved 
in heaven for them will be bestowed. 

John^ 5 : 28, 29, *' Marvel not at this : for the hour 
is coming, in the which all that are in their graves 
shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ; they that 
have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and 
they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of 
condemnation." How clearly are the life and death, 
threatened in Scripture, associated in this passage 
with the resurrection. What our Lord says in 
Matt 10 : 15, 11 : 24, of Sodom and Gomorrah, in 
in the day of judgment, shows that they are reserved 
unto the judgment day for the decision in their case. 
The inhabitants of these ancient cities, as well as 
those of Tyre and Sidon, who had perished from 
earth long before the advent of our Saviour, it is 
said, will receive their peculiar condemnation at that 
great day which God has appointed, in which he 
will judge the world in righteousness by that man 
whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given 
assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him 
from the dead. But why this, if they were j udged 
and rewarded at death ? Where, in a single pas- 
sage, is it said that any are judged at death ? 

The doctrine advocated is still more clearly set 
forth in 2 Pet 2 : 9, and 3:7," The Lord knoweth 
how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to 
reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be pun- 
ished. But the heavens and the earth, which are 
now, by the same word are kept in store^ reserved 
unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition 



60 THE INTEKMEDIATE STATE. 

of ungodly men."' These passages need no comment. 
They teach, that none of the unjust who have died, 
have yet received their sentence and doom. They 
are reserved, in the place appointed for them, until 
the judgment-day arrives. They probably know 
that they will be condemned, from the place in which 
they are confined, and from the fearful looking for 
of judgment which torments them in their prison- 
house, but their trial has not yet been held, nor their 
sentence pronounced. They are like criminals arrest- 
ed and confined in prison, awaiting the day of trial. 
Neither are the fallen angels yet judged and pun- 
ished. Peter says, *' God spared not the angels that 
sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered 
them into chains of darkness, to he reserved unto judg- 
raent''^ 2 Pet. 2 : 4. Jude says, " And the angels 
which kept not their first estate, but left their own 
habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains 
under darkness unto the judgment of the great day^ 
The expression, everlasting chains under darkness, 
is doubtless a figure, drawn from the manner of 
securing prisoners, and is employed to represent the 
entire security in which these fallen beings are re- 
served in the places appointed. No language could 
declare more clearly that the devils are not yet 
judged and punished. And with this accords the 
address of the demons to our Lord, Matt. 8 : 29, '^ And 
behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do 
with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God ? Art thou come 
hither to torment us before the time f' The time then 
appointed for their torment had not yet come in the 



A commo:n' erkor. 61 

days of our Lord, though they had fallen thousands 
of years before ; and as the day of Judgment has 
not yet come, they are still in the same condition 
in which they were, in respect to punishments as in 
former times. 

In Romans^ 2 : 7, 16, The Apostle declares that 
God will render to every man according to his 
works, in the day in ichich he will judge the secrets 
of all men according to the Gospel. And this mani- 
festly affirms that no one will be rewarded accord- 
ing to his works until the final day of judgment. 

The parable of the sheep and goats. Matt. 25 . 
31-34, teaches that the righteous will not be put in 
possession of the kingdom prepared for them from 
the foundation of the world, nor the wicked sen- 
tenced, until the Son of Man comes in his glory, and 
all his holy angels with him. These various scrip- 
tures now noticed, fully confirm the position taken, 
that the inheritance and rewards promised, are not 
entered upon at death, but are reserved, or laid up, 
against the last time, to be manifested and bestowed 
at the resurrection and judgment. We cannot call 
to mind a passage, in which the doctrine is taught, 
that judgment and reward take place at death. The 
parable of the rich man and Lazarus does not prove 
it. Nothing is said in this of any trial or judgment 
passed upon them, or any reward formally bestov/ed. 
The comfort or repose of Lazarus, and the misery 
of Dives -are all that are affirmed, just as a good man 
might be said to be happy, and a bad man misera- 
ble in the Dresent state. 



62 THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 



A NECESSARY DISTINCTION. 

It has often been affi.rmed, and may still appear 
to some, that all this is a matter of no practical im- 
portance, as the destiny of every individual is in 
fact decided, by the relation he has sustained to God, 
and the character he has formed in the present world, 
so that no change will, or can be, effected in the al- 
lotments beyond the grave. 

It is granted to be a clearly-revealed scriptural 
truth, that the character formed here, and the works 
done, will fix the destiny of men hereafter ; but the 
aspects in which the Scriptures present this subject, 
are vastly more important to the consistency and 
harmony of Divine truth, and to the revealed order 
and developments of the life to come, than might at 
first view appear. 

The doctrines of the resurrection of the dead, and 
of a judgment day to come, are manifestly great and 
fundamental truths of Scripture, and cannot be de- 
nied without an abandonment of much that is most 
impressive and effective in the Gospel. But what 
need is there of a resurrection of our bodies, and of 
a day of judgment, if men are judged at death, and 
enter upon the fall rewards of the world to come, 
independently of their resurrection bodies ? The 
practical tendency of this unscriptural view, is to 
lessen in human estimation the importance or neces- 
sity of a future resurrection and j udgment ; and thus 
to divert the mind from those great points in our 



A NECESSARY DISTINCTION. 63 

future destiny, which God has so affectingly and 
prominently presented. And this is one reason, 
we doubt not, why those doctrines are so often dis- 
regarded and denied, at the present day, among pro- 
fessing Christians. For how natural and logical the 
inference — that if the soul is now imprisoned in the 
body, and can best attain the glorious destiny in re- 
serve, as is often asserted in popular writings, in its 
disembodied state ; and if men are accordingly 
judged and rewarded immediately after death — 
there is no necessity for a resurrection and judg- 
ment. If the soul, freed from this cumbrous body, 
is at death in a more favorable situation for progress 
and happiness, and does in fact enter upon the full 
destiny in reserve — then these doctrines, as they 
have been commonly understood, cannot be true. It 
is only in some spiritual or mystic sense that they 
are to be understood. Thus, the direct tendency of 
prevalent views upon this subject, among orthodox 
Christians, is to error and scepticism on these all- 
glorious and fundamental points. 

The proper and Scriptural aspects of these doc- 
trines will be considered in their appropriate place ; 
but it may be important here to remark that, ac- 
cording to Scripture, man's highest destiny is to be 
attained in connection with his body, and that there 
is a most manifest propriety, wisdom and justice, in 
the arrangement by which men are referred to the 
future great day of judgment for the decision in 
their case, and their eternal reward. 

God has declared it to be the great principle of 



64 THE INTEEMEDIATE STATE. 

his government to render to every man according 
to his works. The righteous will be judged and 
rewarded according to their works wrought in Christ 
Jesus, and the wicked according to their deeds done 
in selfishness and sin. HencC; it is rendered, we 
conceive, absolutely necessary that the reward of 
all should be deferred until the judgment day ; be- 
cause, before that time, it cannot be known to 
created beings how much good or evil any have 
done. The character and desert of our deeds are 
to be determined by the motives from which they 
spring, and by the influence for good or evil which 
they exert. The influence of a man's life and deeds 
constitute, in feet; the greater part of what he does 
in life. His simple and naked acts, separated from 
all their influence and their consequences on unborn 
generations, are not the chief things to be taken 
into the account in forming that estimate of his 
deeds, according to which he is to be rewarded. The 
influence he exerts is the most important. This 
does not die. After a man is dead, it travels on in 
its consequences of good or evil to the end. Many 
do vastly more good, and others immensely more 
evil after death, than while living. The prophets 
who wrote the Old Testament, and the evangelists 
and apostles who wrote the New, have exerted a 
wider influence for good since their death than 
while living. All along down the track of ages, and 
at the present time, they have been, and are doing, 
untold good. And so every one who writes. Bax- 
ter, though dead, yet speaketh. So does Paine. 



A NECESSARY DISTINCTION. 65 

The blighting influence of his Age of Keason tra- 
vels on, widening as a stream of death in its dark 
course, and none of these can be justly rewarded 
according to their works, until the close of that dis- 
pensation which is to circumscribe their peculiar 
operations on earth. 

If good men then, and holy, are to be rewarded 
according to their works, they will not be prepared 
to receive their recompense until their good is ac- 
complished in the present time. And so with the 
wicked, we cannot see how justice can be fully 
awarded, or their doom appreciated, until the mis- 
chief they have wrought shall find its limit in the 
closing up of the present dispensation. 

For this reason we can see that there is wisdom 
and necessity, in referring all men to the great day 
of judgment, for the final decision in their case. 
And then again, as one great object of the judg- 
ment day is to vindicate the ways of God with men 
before the universe, and to make such a demonstra- 
tion of the equity and rectitude of the Divine gov- 
ernment, that all the good shall approve and ad- 
mire the ways of God ; it will be far more impress- 
ive and grand in the result, to have the judgment, 
in each individual case, rendered at the same time, 
or in the same connection, than it would be to as- 
sign men their destiny at death, under circumstances 
where all could not see or appreciate the result, and 
before the good or evil of their doings were de- 
veloped. 

As God foreknows from the beginning the mani- 



66 THE INTEKMEDIATE STATE. 

fold results of all actions, lie might judge and assign 
each one his reward of honor or dishonor at death ; 
but then the moral effect, upon interested worlds, 
would seemingly be lost, and we could not judge 
of the righteousness of his proceedings. We doubt 
not that there will be seen to be an infinite wisdom 
in postponing the reward of the righteous and of 
the wicked until the resurrection and judgment of 
the great day. 

Assuming, for the present, the truth of the resur- 
rection of the dead at some future period, and of a 
great and final day of account, then it is manifest 
that between death, and the resurrection and judg- 
ment, there is an intermediate state — a state differing 
vastly, in many particulars, from the present em- 
bodied state in the' flesh ; and as widely dift'erent, 
as we can well conceive, from that higher and more 
glorious resurrection state which will succeed, and 
when the peculiar rewards of righteousness and un- 
righteousness will be conferred. 

The doctrine of a resurrection, when these vile 
bodies of ours shall be changed, and fashioned like 
unto Christ's glorious body, necessarily implies an 
intermediate state, clearly defined, in which the soul 
is not advanced to that state of promised and re- 
nowned blessedness, in which, in an embodied form, 
it will pursue its u.pward career during the unend- 
ing ages which will follow. 

Now, it is an interesting inquiry, where is the 
soul, during this interval? What is its state and 
condition ? Its prospects and enjoyments ? Do the 



CONSCIOUS EXISTENCE. 67 

Scriptures shed any definite light on the subject? 
If they do, it is our duty and privilege, to listen and 
learn all that God has been pleased to communi- 
cate. 

CONSCIOUS EXISTENCE, 

1. The souls of the departed are^ during tlie inter - 
raediaie state^ in a conscious existence. It has been 
maintained by some, ^' that the period which elapses 
between the time of death and the resurrection, is 
spent in unconsciousness and in inactivity ; that 
the soul is either extinct, or in a profound and 
dreamless sleep, forgetful of all that is past, ignorant 
of all that is around it, and regardless of all that is 
to come." This opinion has been greatly revived in 
these latter times, by those who hold that natural 
death is the peculiar penalty of sin, and that eternal 
life, by the resurrection of the good to immortality, 
is the peculiar gift of Jesus Christ. But this theory 
seems to be plainly contradicted by the Word of 
God. The Saviour said to the penitent thief on the 
cross, ^' To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise." 
The rich man and Lazarus are both represented in 
the parable, by our Lord, as alive, and conscious, 
and capable of thinking, feeling and speaking. 
Moses and Elias, departed saints, are said to have 
appeared unto Jesus and his three disciples, on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, and to have conversed 
with them. — Matt. 17 : 3. Moses, therefore, as well 
as Elias in his transfigured body, must have been 



68 THE INTEKMEDIATE STATE. 

alive and conscious. And if Moses, why not all 
others ? 

When the apostle John was about to worship the 
angel, sent to him in Patmos, to communicate the 
message of Jesus, He said, '^ See thou do it not : 
for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy hrethren the 
prophets^ and of them which keep the sayings of 
this book : worship God. — Rev, 22 : 9. 

Our Lord, in his argument with the Sadducees, 
who denied the existence of angels and spirits, said, 
Matt. 22 : 31, 32, ^^ But as touching the resurrection 
of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken 
unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abra- 
ham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob ? 
Ood is not the God of the dead^ hut of the living y The 
language here is peculiar. Jehovah says, /am, and 
not I shall be, in some future age, the God of these 
patriarchs. And as Christ affirms that God is not 
the God of the dead — of that which does not exist, 
but of the living, it proves that Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob, though dead and buried, in respect to 
their bodies, were living beings at the time our- 
Lord spoke ; and therefore confirms the separate 
and conscious. existence of souls after death. 

The prayer of Stephen, Acts 7 : 59, immediately 
before his death, shows that he believed in the ex- 
istence of the soul separate from the body. ^^ And 
they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, 
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." So the wise man 
tells us, ^' Then," at death, " shall the dust return 
to the earth as it was : and the spirit shall return 



THE RIGHTEOUS WITH CHRIST. 69 

unto God who gave it." There are various other 
scriptures which assert, even more strongly than 
these, the separate existence of the soul, after the 
body returns to earth, but which are here omitted, 
because they can be more conveniently introduced 
in another place. It would seem then that the 
teachings of the Word of God are as full and ex- 
plicit on the great doctrine of the soul's immortality 
as could be desired. 

" The star that sets 



Beyond tlie western wave, is not extinct; 

It brightens in another hemisphere, 

And gilds another evening with its rays." 



THE RIGHTEOUS "WITH CHRIST. 

2. The souls of believers go at death to heaven, 
and are with Christ during the intermediate state ; 
while the souls of the wicked go to their own place, 
and are kept in reserve until the resurrection and 
judgment. In the Eoman Catholic, and in the 
Episcopal churches, not only an intermediate state, 
but an intermediate place is maintained. Thus the 
Eector of Trinity Church, Wilmington, Delaware, 
writes, ^' The great majority of those who die in the 
Lord, are very far from being eminent saints. They 
leave the world pardoned and free from sin, indeed, 
but very imperfect, ignorant, feeble, and unfit for 
the ineffable blaze of heavenly effulgence, and the 
society and employments of the ancient and glorious 
inhabitants of heaven. But Paradise is an interme- 



70 THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 

diate resting-place^ where the soul becomes unfolded, 
invigorated, and instructed for a superior state and 
world. 

^' The spirit, disenthralled and emancipated from 
its earthly prison and vehicle, passes into i\i\^ place 
of abode, perfectly adapted to its disembodied state, 
and the design of that state. There under genial 
and sensitive influences, it repairs its losses and 
injuries, recovers its balance and tone, becomes 
thoroughly developed, and fully prepared for an- 
other and still higher state of being." 

According to this, Paradise, or the intermediate 
abode of the departed, is not the purgatory of the 
catholic church, but a kind of school preparatory to 
the higher glories of the resurrection state. 

But this theory of an intermediate place some- 
where beneath, or this side of heaven, seems to be 
clearly contradicted by express Scripture testimony. 
Let it be remembered that it is repeatedly declared, 
that when our Lord ascended on high, he went into 
heaven itself, where he ever liveth. The apostle 
says, Heb. 8:1, " Now of the things which we have 
spoken, this is the sum : we have such an high priest 
who is set on the right hand of the throne of the 
Majesty in the heavens." And again, 9 : 24, " For 
Christ is not entered into the holy place made v/ith 
hands, which are the figures of the true ; but into 
heaven itself^ ever to appear in the presence of Grod 
for ns." 

It is then a clearly revealed truth that the Saviour 
has ascended into heaven itself, and no intermediate 



THE KIGHTEOUS WITH CHKIST. 71 

place, as Ve can perceive, in the revelations of a 
future world. 

But where Christ is, there, we are assured, his 
saints are, and as it is certain that he is in heaven, 
they must also be there. *' Father," he prays, *'I 
will that those whom thou hast given me, he with 
me, that they may behold my glory." In accord- 
ance with this, Stephen, when about to die, cried, 
** Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." The apostle Paul 
says of himself and all whom he represented, 2 Cor, 
5:6," Therefore we are always confident, knowing 
that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are ab- 
sent from the Lord : we are confident, I say, and 
willing rather to be absent from the body, and to he 
present with the LordP It would seem from this, 
that the apostle confidently expected that when be- 
lievers should be separated from the body at death, 
they would from that time be ever present with the 
Lord, which not only shows his belief in the separate 
existence of the soul, but also that he thought not 
of an intermediate place. 

The same thing is expressed in Phil, 1 : 23, "For 
I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to de- 
part and be with Christ, which is far better.'^ Is it 
not clear from this that he expected, when he de- 
parted this life, to be immediately present with 
Christ in heaven itself? On any other supposition, 
his desire to depart, that he might be Avith Christ, 
would be unintelligible. For if saints go not imme- 
diately to heaven, where Christ is, but to some 
intermediate place, then by dying he would have 



72 THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 

been no sooner with, tlie Lord, than he'-wonld by 
remaining on earth, nor so near as to enjoyment; 
for here he had access to him by prayer and en- 
deared spiritual intercourse 

In harmony with these confident and ardent ex- 
pectations of the apostle, he teaches, in 1 Thess. 
4 : 14, that at the second coming of Christ, all the 
saints who have died will come with him. '' For if 
we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so 
them also which sleep in Jesus, will God bring with 
liim." Is it not clearly implied here, that all the 
saints are with Christ, and hence will come with 
him, when he descends to earth at the resurrection 
and judgment? We embrace it, then, as a most 
joyous and consoling truth, that death ushers the 
believer into the presence of Christ, there to remain 
in happy and glorious expectancy, waiting for the 
redemption of the body. But this being with Christ, 
simply, is not the great and peculiar reward prom- 
ised. Our redemption and likeness to him are to be 
complete. Our vile bodies are to be changed, and 
fashioned like unto his glorified body — and then we 
are to be unto him kings and priests, to sit down 
with him on his throne, and to share with him the 
glories of his everlasting kingdom — all of which 
will be more fully discussed in the chapter on the 
nature of future happiness. None of these honors 
will, according to Scripture, be conferred until the 
resurrection. 



THE FORM OF THE SOUL 73 



THE FORM OF THE SOUL. 

3. The soul, we believe, enters the world of spirits, 
and exists during the intermediate state, in its ap- 
propriate human form. To every reflecting mind 
the question will sometimes arise, what is the form 
of the soul, and in what shape does it exist when it 
is disembodied ? Upon this subject many vain and 
irrational conceits have been entertained. But the 
most simple, natural, rational, and scriptural idea is, 
that the soul has a human form — a form correspond- 
ing to the body, and that it therefore enters and ex- 
ists in the spirit world in its own distinctive form, so 
that the departed may not only recognize themselves, 
but every other being with whom on earth they have 
been acquainted. 

This idea is prominent in the system of Sweden- 
borg ; but with him it was not original. It is the 
simple and only idea of the Bible in the literal sense. 
It is not a subject treated of directly, or taught in 
definite propositions — ^but everywhere in Scripture, 
when the departed are spoken of, or when they are 
represented as making their appearance to others, 
they are always in their appropriate human form. 
Abraham and Lazarus were so seen by Dives, and 
Dives by them. Moses and Elias appeared as men, 
and the great multitude which John saw in vision 
around the throne, were as human beings, in their 
appropriate form. And hence when Christians speak 
of meeting, or seeing their loved ones in another life, 



74 THE INTEEMEDIATE STATE. 

they have, in general, no other idea of them, than in 
the very forms in which they were on earth. And 
so Virgil and other ancients, in describing those seen 
in the infernal and celestial regions, represent them 
all. 

This is certainly a very natural and rational idea, 
so much so that it is not at all surprising that it 
should everywhere be assumed in Scripture as an 
undoubted truth, without exposition, note, or com- 
ment. As the Scriptures, then, uniformly represent 
the departed in human forms, we are certainly justi- 
fied in the conclusion that such is indeed the form 
of those who have entered the spirit world. 

Nor is it true that this is unworthy of notice, or 
unimportant. We love to take the Bible as it reads, 
and to receive the simple impress of its communi- 
cated truth, unperverted by metaphysical inductions, 
which have no foundation in nature or common 
sense. To be permitted to look into the spirit world, 
through the simple medium of Scripture, and con- 
template the departed as they gather round the Sav- 
iour, as human beings, is adapted to give a more 
definite conception of another life, and more pleasing, 
than to think of spirits as some intangible gauzy 
existences, flitting about in empty air, without figure. 

The attractions of the world to come, and its 
power over us, will doubtless be strong in proportion 
to the clearness of our views of its wondrous real- 
ities. How can we be strongly attracted by any- 
thing which we do not clearly perceive or definitely 
comprehend? Any view, therefore, authorized by 



LONGINGS OF NATUKE. 75 

the A¥ord of God, which is adapted to give more 
clear and pleasing conceptions of another life, must 
increase its attractive influence. 

LONGINGS OF NATURE. 

It would detract exceedingly from the pleasurable 
anticipations of meeting departed friends in another 
life, did we know that they were not still in their 
identified human forms. To indulge the sentiment 
is natural and innocent. The desire is enshrined in 
our common humanity. Even the mother, whose 
smiling infant is taken from her arms, longs to meet 
and embrace it just as it was, in its infantile form. 
If any tell her that ^^not as a child," shall she again 
behold it, her language is, — 

" say not so ! how shall I know my darling, 

If changed her form, and veiFd with shining hair, 
If, since her flight, has grown my starling. 

How shall I know her there ? 
On memory's page, by viewless fingers painted, 

I see the features of my angel child ; 
She passed away ere vice her life had tainted, 
Passed to the undefiled. 

" say not so ! for I could clasp her, even 
As when below she lay upon my breast ; 
I would dream of her as a bud in heaven, 

Amid the blossoms blest. 
My little one, she was a folded lily. 

Sweeter than any on the azure wave, 
But night came down, a starless night and chilly. 
Alas ! we could not save. 

Yes, as a child, serene and noble poet — 
O heaven were dark were children wanting there ;. 



76 THE INTEEMEDIATE STATE. 

I hope to clasp my bud, as when I wore it, 

A dunpled baby fair. 
Though years have flown, toward my blue-eyed daughter, 

My heart yearns ofttimes with a mother's love ; 
Its never-dying tendrils now enfold her, 

E'en as a child above. 

E'en as a babe, my little dove-eyed daughter, 

Nestle and coo upon my heart again : 
Wait for thy mother by the river water. 

It shall not be in vain. 
Wait as a child, — how shall I know my darling. 

If changed her form, and veiled with shining hair ; 
If, since her flight, has grown my little starhng, 
How shall I know her there ?" 

The tender sentiment here breathed is very com- 
mon, more so than many would imagine. But the 
mother may never meet her babe just as it was. Will 
its powers not expand and thus its aspects vary ? 
No parent on reflection, would wish to have her 
child remain eternally in a state of infancy. Eeason 
shows that it would be vastly more pleasing to meet 
them in some enlarged and advanced sphere of being. 
The demands of our yearning natures are fully met 
if we may think of them still as retaining their 
human form, though progressing — if we may trace 
in their glorified and developed forms the family 
likeness and lineaments inscribed on earth. 



THE CHARACTER OF THE SOUL. 

The Scriptures clearly teach that we shall enter 
the spirit world sustaining essentially the same 



THE CHAEACTEE OF THE SOUL. 77 

moral character which we cultivated in life, and pos- 
sessed when we left the world. 

Perhaps when we cross the river of death we shall 
be surprised to find that we are so much like our- 
selves, and so much under the influence of the same 
affections which controlled us on earth. For there 
is no ground from Scripture or reason to suppose 
that the soul changes its nature, essence, or character 
in passing from one world to another. ^^ Death, 
like birth, is the act of passing from one state of ex- 
istence to another, giving us nothing but a change 
of situation. Here are two moments of time. Now 
there is the spirit of a man still tremblingly dwell- 
ing within an expiring body. Next moment, the 
same spirit lives without the body. The little words, 
in and out^ contain the only difference. All that the 
soul is at death, it will he after death ; nothing less, 
nothing more. It varies nothing. It leaves nothing 
of itself. It only goes." Why then must we not 
possess the same moral character in the spirit, as in 
the present world ? 

The Scriptures teach that ^Hhe wicked shall be 
driven away in his wickedness ; and it is certainly 
the common belief, that they will enter and continue 
to exist in another life, cherishing the same enmity 
to God, and possessing the same worldly character 
in other respects which they cultivated on earth. 

The following passage teaches that what is true 
of the wdcked will be of the righteous. Rev, 22 : 11. — 
*^ And he saith unto me. Seal not the sayings of the 
prophecy of this book : for the time is at hand. He 



78 THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 

that is unjust, let him be unjust still : and he which 
is filthy, let him be filthy still : and he which is 
righteous, let him be righteous still : and he that is 
holy, let him be holy still." 

The doctrine of this passage seems plainly to be, 
that as men die, so they will enter another life. The 
present is one of preparation, and it is here that our 
characters are to be decided. And yet, in respect 
to the righteous especially, there must, and doubtless 
will be, great changes pass upon them for the better. 
Even the best will enter the future world encom- 
passed with imperfections, ignorance and error. And 
it will be necessary that they shall be delivered from 
all moral imperfection and error to prepare them for 
the fruits and rewards of holiness, in the presence 
and enjoyment of God. 

And we can see, that there will be an entire adap- 
tation, in the altered circumstances produced by a 
change of worlds, to produce the desired result. The 
period of probation, and the season of trial and con- 
flict will then be forever passed; and the day of 
perfect victory and joyful triumph will have dawned 
in beauty upon the Spirit. This altered condition 
in the circumstances of their being will produce 
changes of vital import. They will no longer live 
amid scenes of sin, or breathe an atmosphere in- 
fected with evil. There will hence be no enticements 
to evil, or incentives to disobedience. There will be 
no longer any danger of contamination or seduction, 
from a necessary association with the impure ; for, 
the society of earth, will at death be exchanged for 



CHARACTEB OF THE SOUL. 79 

tbe society of Jesus — of *angels, and ttie spirits of 
the just made perfect. There will no longer be any 
danger of mistake in the reception of truth, or de- 
lusion from a darkened mind ; for, amid the society 
of the just, the sun of righteousness and the gleam- 
ings of truth, pure from the fountain of light, will 
henceforth dissipate the mists of error, and chase 
away forever the darkness of untruth. 

Now in such circumstances, and under such genial 
influences, we may well suppose, that souls which 
have been redeemed and regenerated on earth, and 
to whose upward aspirings a real impulse has been 
given by the breath ,and power of the eternal 
Spirit — will rapidly develop their moral powers to 
perfection<— burst away from the shackles of igno- 
rance and sin, and clothe themselves in the white 
robes of unspotted purit3^ 

Take the rose, which in some secluded and un- 
favorable spot has begun to put forth its tender 
leaves, and whose bud has begun to swell under 
some genial v/armth which it has received, and 
bring it out to the pure light, and balmy air, and 
warming influences of the sun, and how soon it will 
expand, and burst forth in beauty, and exhale its 
sweetness on the air. 

^ So minds, in which the principle of holiness has 
been implanted on earth, and Avhich has begun to 
germinate and bud, even amid the untoward influ- 
ences of time, we may well suppose, will soon burst 
forth in perfection and beauty, when placed amid 



80 THE INTEKMEDIATE STATE. 

and beneath the pure light, warmth and influence 
of heaven. 

But let it be observed, that all this will not be an 
essential change of character, but only an enlarge- 
ment and development of that already formed in all 
its essential ingredients. The rose could not be de- 
veloped, were there not previously life in its roots 
and stock; and a bud upon its branch. The child 
unborn is a man in miniature, and undergoes no 
change in nature, or the essential elements of its 
being when born into the world. He is only intro- 
duced to a new life — to a new sphere of being, and 
is placed in circumstances more favorable for the 
ultimate development of his powers. So in passing- 
out of the body into another sphere of life we shall 
assume no new characters. We shall be just like 
ourselves. There will only be, in the processes of 
another life, a development of characters already 
formed, like the buds ready to burst in the spring. 
The unholy will be unholy still, and the righteous 
will be righteous still. 

How loDg a time will be required to free the souls 
of the regenerated from all the errors which have 
been incorporated into the habits of their minds and 
modes of thought, and from every taint of moral 
defilement which has left its stain upon them, we 
are not informed, and it is not essential for us to 
know. Were it revealed, that during this interme- 
diate state, the mind under the genial, sanative and 
spiritual influences which have been described, 
would gradually, and according to the natural and 



THE CHARACTER OF THE SOUL. 81 

voluntary operations of the laws of mind, ^^ repair 
its losses and injuries," and thus, according to the 
same laws of sanctification which now exist, and in 
connection with the exercise of its own powers, be- 
come thoroughly prepared for another and still 
higher state of being at the resurrection, it would 
not seem unreasonable. It may be so. Such a 
supposition is more in accordance with the laws of 
the human mind, and more in harmony with all 
that we know of the method of God's working, than 
the idea that all our sins and imperfections are to 
be stricken out in an unconscious instant of time at 
death by some miraculous energy, and without any 
effort of our own to attain the end. We know of 
nothing contrary to this view in the written Word. 
But as it is a point not revealed, we are not pre- 
sumptuously to inquire respecting it. 

One point is clearly settled. The great and es- 
sential elements of our future characters must be 
gathered this side of the grave. Here the true and 
tried corner-stone must be laid, upon which the 
eternal structure of perfection and blessedness must 
be reared ; for there can be no radical change ef- 
fected hereafter. It is to be feared that multitudes 
in the church and out of it fatally mistake here, and 
depend more upon the change to be wrought in 
them at or after death to fit them for heavenly hap- 
piness, than upon their earnest efforts 7iow to become 
holy, and to bring every thought, and feeling, and 
purpose into subjection to the law of Jesus Christ. 
But surely any such hope is presumptuous and un- 

4* 



82 THE INTEEMEDIATE STATE. 

scriptural. There is no promise of holiness or hap- 
piness in heaven to any who do not now '^hunger 
and thirst after righteousness," and who do not 
*^ follow after holiness, without which no man shall 
see the Lord." 

O how often have I trembled at the grave of 
many a departed professor, when I have known 
how little of the loveliness, the meekness, patience 
and humility of the Gospel they manifested — how 
vain, foolish, and inconsistent were their lives, and 
how feeble were their efforts, if any were made, to 
grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ. I know that God is in- 
finitely benevolent — that his compassions vastly 
transcend the purest exhibitions of human love ; 
but will he reward the unfaithful servant ? Has 
he promised to fill any with holiness and happiness 
who do not hunger and thirst after righteousness. It 
is written that to those only, who by a faithful con- 
tinuance in well-doing, seek for glory, honor, and 
immortality, will he render eternal life. — Rom, 2. 
Justification, through the abounding mercy of God 
in Christ, gives a title to heaven ; but it is never 
bestowed except in connection with that regenera- 
tion and sanctification which consecrates the heart 
and life to the high and holy pursuits of the world 
to come, by a cordial submission and obedience to 
the will of God. 

Do not those strangely deceive themselves, who 
live conformed to a wicked world — who can- do 
things that even the unrenewed condemn, and who 



THE REPOSE OF THE SOUL. 83 

labor not to cultivate the graces of the Spirit, and 
yet suppose that God, by some divine ictus, or 
electric shock, will strike out all their sins, in an 
unconscious instant, between the last pulsations of 
life and their sudden entrance into the spirit world ? 
What evidence can we have that we are justified 
and regenerated, except as the spirit of holiness 
reigns within us, and leads us to live in obedience 
to the pure and virtuous and benevolent principles 
of the gospel ? 



THE REPOSE OF THE SOUL. 

5. The souls of the righteous, during the inter- 
mediate state, will exist rather in a condition of 
rest or repose, than of activity. This is affirmed in 
various scriptures. 

Rev, 14 : 13. ^^ And I heard a voice from heaven, 
saying unto me, write, Blessed are the dead which 
die in the Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the 
spirit, that they may rest from their labors ; and their 
works do follow them." This directly affirms a 
state of rest — of tranquil, peaceful, and joyous re- 
pose, rather than an active state of diligent pursuit. 
Rev, 6 : 10, 16, " And they cried with a loud voice, 
saying. How long, Lord, holy and true, dost thou 
not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell 
on the earth ? And white robes were given unto 
every one of them, and it was said unto them that 
they should rest yet for a little season^ until their fellow- 



84 THE INTEEMEDIATE STATE. 

servants also and their brethren, that should be 
killed as they were, should be fulfilled." Does not 
this passage represent the martyrs, and by inference 
all the dead, as existing in the world of spirits, in a 
condition of holy rest and expectancy^ which will con- 
tinue until the whole company of the redeemed, up 
to the end of the dispensation, shall be gathered Id, 
when in company and together they shall be intro- 
duced to their glorious reward? In accordance 
with these passages — we are assured, Heb. 4 : 9, 
that, There remaineth a rest for the people of 
God. 

The same idea of a soothing and peaceful rest in 
reserve for the righteous after death, is presented in 
those scriptures which represent the good when 
dying, as falling asleep — asleep in Jesus. Of Stephen 
it is said, when he died, he fell asleep. This is a 
common expression to represent the death of the 
just. Of all the righteous departed, the apostle says, 
** For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God 
bring with him." 1 Thess. 4 : 14. Now were any 
disposed to press this figure to its utmost limit, and 
to maintain a strict and literal analogy, in all re- 
spects, between the sleeping, and the dead in Christ ; 
an unconscious state could not here be inferred ; for, 
in our sleep ^^ what dreams do come !" How many 
that are exceedingly pleasant and enrapturing, ex- 
ceeding even the gayest and most joyous day-dreams 
which ever crossed the imagination. And were our 
intermediate state to be strictly analogous to that 



THE EEPOSE OF THE SOUL. 85 

of sleep, the expression, '^ aslee2J in Jesus^^'' would 
give us an assurance that no fearful, distressing, or 
troubled dreams would disturb our slumbers ; but 
would rather lead us to expect that all our slumber- 
ing visions of future reward and blessedness would 
be of the most peaceful and pleasurable kind. 

But the idea which the Holy Ghost designed to 
convey under the image of " balmy sleep" is, we 
judge, that of sweet and delightful repose, a rest from 
all the trials, sorrows, anxieties, toils, and wearisome 
labors of life. And what figure could more appro- 
priately and attractively represent that repose, for 
which the good, tempest-tost, and afflicted, now 
often sigh, than to sleep in Jesus ? It is a delight- 
ful image of the future, to the afflicted people of 
God. Job, in the midst of his severe trials, longed 
for rest in the grave, or invisible world, 3 : 17 ; and 
the Psalmist sighed for some peaceful refuge, far re- 
moved beyond the stormy afflictions of the world. 
" And I said, oh, that I had wings like a dove ; for 
then would I fly away and be at rest. Lo, then I 
would wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. 
I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and 
tempest." And so there remaineth a rest for the 
people of God, prior to those higher activities, which 
will be entered upon in the resurrection state. 

These Scriptures show conclusively that during 
the intermediate state, the righteous will be rather 
in a state of rest than activity — not rest, in the 
sense of unconsciousness or idleness, but rest in re- 
spect to those offices they are afterwards to fill, and 



86 THE INTEEMEDIATE STATE. 

those high services they are to perform in the king- 
dom of God, in the resurrection state. 

In the resurrection, the dead in Christ will no 
longer sleep in Jesus, but will awake to a new and 
an immortal life, in association with their material 
bodies, and to activities and progressions, of which 
we can now form no conception. 

We regard the Scriptures, above quoted, as hav- 
ing reference to the condition of the soul during the 
intermediate state, and not as intended to character- 
ize the whole career of an endless life. It seems to 
us that this view is essential, to give consistency and 
harmony to the representations of revelation, respect- 
ing the high destinies of the eternal world. 



ITS EECEPTIVE STATE. 

It would be in harmony with these Scriptures to 
regard the soul as existing, during the intermediate 
state, in a passive, receptive condition. It may be 
analogous to that of infancy and childhood. During 
the first years of a child's existence on earth, its 
mind is passively receptive of those impressions and 
ideas, which are designed to prepare it for the higher 
duties and responsibilities of manhood. Its mind 
may be said to be at rest during the first months of 
its life, and in such a state as to be continually re- 
ceiving those impressions which are to expand and 
bring into active exercise, at the appropriate time, 
its own latent and inherent powers. 



DO THE BEPARTED REVISIT EARTH? 87 

Such may be the state of the soul during the years 
which shall precede the resurrection morn ; and this 
may be the intent of the rest that remains. It can- 
not be doubted that the mind will receive wonderful 
impressions and ideas, as it enters the heavenly 
world, and holds converse with Jesus and the 
glorified. And these impressions of heaven ^s own 
image and spirit will be continually increasing, and 
they must necessarily expand and purify the soul 
beyond all present conception. And can it be 
questioned that these impressions and ideas, thus 
received, will prepare the saved for the higher ser- 
vices of unending ages ? It seems reasonable, there- 
fore, to regard the rest that remains for the people 
of God, as a receptive state, designed to enlarge and 
prepare the mind for the higher glories of the resur- 
rection. The idea is certainly exceedingly pleasant 
and glorious. Shall this peaceful rest be ours ? 
*^ Let US therefore fear, lest a promise being left us 
of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to 
come short of it, " Heh, 4:1. *' Let us labor to enter 
into that rest." Heh. 4 : 11. 



DO THE DEPARTED REVISIT EARTH? 

Another deeply interesting inquiry, respecting 
the departed during the intermediate state, is, are 
they permitted to revisit earth, and do they ever see 
or know us in our trials, and wanderings, and sins ? 
The idea that this is the fact, is exceedingly pleasant 



88 THE INTEKMEDIATE STATE. 

to somCj and it must be admitted that there are inti- 
mations in Scripture that their presence is possible, 
and that they have appeared to men. Moses and 
Elias appeared to Jesus and the three disciples, and 
one of the prophets was sent as a revelator to John. 

But it becomes us to be cautious in the views we 
entertain on a subject of this nature. Our Lord 
never intended that we should, in any sense, sup- 
plicate the dead, or be distracted by superstitious 
views respecting their presence, so as to call our at- 
tention from life's appropriate duties. He would 
have us to be governed especially by the belief of 
his own immediate presence and inspection, and to 
live and act as seeing him who is invisible. 

The melancholy cases of extravagance and lunacy, 
which have been caused by modern professed spirit- 
ual manifestations, show what would be the sad 
results, were God to suffer a conscious intercourse 
between the departed and the living, in our present 
weak and imperfect state. And as he does not 
suffer this intercourse, so he has not authorized us 
to believe in the general or uniform presence of de- 
parted friends. We are inclined to the belief that 
the departed are not present with or around about 
us. For to be constantly present, and to behold 
our sorrows, our wanderings, and our sins, and to 
be personally conversant with all the sad vicissitudes 
of time, would seem to be incompatible with that 
state of rest and delightful repose, which the people 
of God are said to enjoy with the Saviour. Nor can 
we suppose that such a constant intercourse would 



A DELIGHTFUL PROSPECT. 89 

be agreeable to those who have been longing to 
escape from the very sight of earth's corruptions and 
vices. Angelic messengers may communicate to 
them, from time to time, such intelligence of the 
developments of Grod^s wondrous plans of providence 
and love, as will be adapted to inspire them with 
hopes most ardent in respect to the future. But 
what we know not now, we shall know hereafter. 



A DELIGHTFUL PROSPECT. 

The views now presented are delightfully attract- 
ive. Though we shall not enter upon the proniised 
— the full reward of the world to come, until the 
resurrection, yet, the intermediate state will have its 
peculiar and exalted joys. During all this period 
we shall be with Jesus — with him who from the be- 
ginning loved us, who died for ns, and rose again. 
And what an attraction will this be to those who 
love him. Though Paul did not expect his crown 
until the day of Christ's glorious appearing, yet he 
felt that it was better, far better, to depart and be 
with Jesns, than to remain on earth. And so thou- 
sands of others have felt, who have been drawn 
heavenward by the power of his attractive love. In 
connection with his wondrous character as Grod, and 
the matchless and divine perfections which cluster 
around him, his amiableness, kindness, tenderness, 
purity and loveliness as Mediator, are sufficient to 
render his presence a sure guarantee of all that is 



90 THE liSTTEKMEDIATE STATE. 

blissful and joyous. Being the same yesterday, to- 
day, and forever, he possesses all the same lovely 
traits in his exalted position that he so winningly 
manifested in the days of his sojourn in the flesh. 
He is none the less meek and lowly in heart — none 
the less kind and affectionate in disposition, than 
when ministering to others good on earth. Cold and 
earthly, sensual and grovelling, and alienated must 
be that heart which never expands v/ith delightful 
emotions in the prospect of being with Christ. And 
then, too, we shall be with him in delightful associa- 
tion with the gathered saints of all ages, waiting in 
ever-brightening hope for the redemption of their 
bodies, and the higher glories of the resurrection. 
And are there no attractions here ? Think of that 
peaceful, quiet, holy repose, the souls of the just will 
enjoy, while patiently waiting in glorious anticipa- 
tion for the kingdom of God. And we can well 
afford to wait for those higher glories of immortality 
ready to be revealed in the last time, in such society, 
and amidst such communings as will be with Jesus, 
and the just made perfect. 

" There is a calm for tliose who weep, 
A rest for weary pilgrims found, 
They softly He, and sweetly sleep 

With Jesus found. 
The storm that wi^ecks the wintry sky, 
No more disturbs their deep repose, 
Than summer evening's latest sigh 
That shuts the rose." 

Vast revolutions may sweep over the world : the 



A DELIGHTFUL PEOSPEOT. 91 

demon of war may howl, and let loose liis fury upon 
the nations^ and drive his bloody chariot over the 
crushed victims of his cruelty — oceans may roll, and 
the warring elements of popular tumult join their 
forces in fearful storms — lightnings may blaze, and 
loud thunders utter their voices — but not all the 
revolutions or commotions of this lower world, or 
universe combined, can disturb the repose of the holy 
— the rest of the departed, shadowed forth in the 
silent and quiet sleep of the grave. 

^^ To be delivered from trouble — to be relieved from 
oppressive power — to be freed from care and pain, 
from sickness and distress — to lie down as in a bed 
of security, in a long oblivion of our woes — to sleep 
in peace, without the fear of interruption — how pleas- 
ing is the prospect : hovv^ full of consolation !'' 

'^ Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord ; yea, 
saith the Spirit, from henceforth, for they rest from 
their labors and their works do follow them." 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE RESURRECTIOK. 

The world to come, is clearly represented to us 
in Scripture as a world of progress, and infinite and 
glorious development. As in the present life, the phys- 
ical and mental powers of man are succassively devel- 
oped, until the maturity of manhood is attained ; so 
in the unfoldings of another life, in the kingdom of 
God, we shall be advanced from one stage of being 
to another, until we reach the summit of heaven's 
glory. 

It is important that we should keep these different 
states, as presented in Scripture, distinct in our 
minds, and the promises appropriate to each, if we 
would form a correct and consistent idea of those 
things which God has revealed to us by his spirit. 



A FUNDAMENTAL DOCTEINE. 

The intermediate state, though rendered peaceful 
and blessed by the presence of Jesus, and hallowed 
by the associations of angels and redeemed spirits, 
cannot be compared to the glory which shall be re- 



A FUNDAMENTAL DOCTEINE, 93 

vealed in us, at the appearing of Jesus Christ, and 
the resurrection of the just. 

It is manifest from the uniform teachings of the 
apostles of our Lord, that the doctrine of the resur- 
rection of the dead was in their estimation fundamen- 
tal to the whole Christian system, and to all the hopes 
inspired by the Gospel. 

Jesus repeatedly promised, '^Ye shall be recom- 
pensed at the resurrection of the just." And the 
Apostle says, 1 Cor. 15 : 12-19, ^^Now, if Christ be 
preached that he rose from the dead, how say some 
among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? 
But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is 
Christ not risen ; and if Christ be not risen, then is 
our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, 
and we are found false witnesses of God ; because we 
have testified of God that he raised up Christ: 
whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise 
not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ 
raised ; and if Christ be not raised, your faith is 
is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also 
which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." 

No language could more strongly declare the es- 
sential importance of this doctrine to the whole 
Christian system than this, and its necessary con- 
nection with all our immortal hopes. In contem- 
plating, therefore, the world to come, and in endeavor- 
ing to gain some idea of its superior attractions, we 
must be careful to give to this subject its revealed 
place and prominence in all our conceptions. 

As the doctrine is often denied, and as generally 



94 THE RESURRECTIOK. 

misunderstood, it is proposed for the confirmation 
of faith, — 

1, To present the evidence which the Scriptures 
furnish in proof of the doctrine of the resurrection 
of our material bodies, and 

2. To show that it is in harmony with reason and 
science ; with our immortal and aspiring natures ; 
with all the works of God, and opens before the be- 
liever a career of immortality inconceivably grand 
and glorious. 

REVEALED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

In presenting the Scriptural evidence upon this 
subject, it must be confessed that but little is re- 
vealed respecting it in the Old Testament. And 
yet there are intimations given, which clearly show 
that the doctrine was known and cherished by saints 
of old, and v^^as an object of that faith which in- 
vested the world to come, in their estimation, with 
attractions exceedingly joyous. In the Epistle to 
the Hebrews it is affirmed, that it was the hope of it 
which supported the martyrs for the Jewish religion. 
^^ And others were tortured, not accepting deliver- 
ance, that they might attain a better resurrection." 
HeK 11 : 35. 

The patriarch Joh manifestly had reference to the 
resurrection of the body when he said, " Oh that 
my words were written ! Oh that they were printed 
in a book ! that they were graven with an iron pen 
and lead in the rock forever, that I know that my 
Kedeemer liveth, and that be shall stand in the latter 



REVEALED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. 95 

day upon the eartli ; and though after my skin 
worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see 
God ; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes 
shall behold, and not another ; though my reins be 
consumed Avithin me ?" These words have been 
the subject of much controversy ; but the circum- 
stances in which they were spoken, the solemnity of 
the introduction, and the devoted tone of the lan- 
guage, evidentlj^ point to something greater than a 
temporal deliverance. 

The doctrine is also clearly taught in Isaiah^ 
25 : 8, and 26 : 19, "He will swallow up death in 
victory ; and the Lord God will wipe away tears 
from off all faces ; and the rebuke of his people shall 
he take away from off all the earth : for the Lord 
hath spoken it. Thy dead men shall live, together 
with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and 
sing, ye that dwell in dust : for thy dew is as the 
dew of herbs, and the earth ^all cast out the dead." 

That these words refer to the resurrection of the 
dead is decided by the Apostle Paul, who affirms 
that they shall be brought to pass, or be fulfilled, 
*Svhen this corruptible shall have put on incorrup- 
tion, and this mortal shall have put on immortality" 
1 Cor, 15 : 54. 

It was also clearly and distinctly announced to 
the prophet Daniel^ 12 : 2, 13, " And many of them 
which sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, 
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and 
everlasting contempt. But go thy way till the end 
be : for thou diaJt rest, and stand in thy lot at the 



96 THE RESURRECTION. 

end of the days." This last declaration shows that 
the state intervening between death and the resur- 
rection is one of rest, as shown in the previous chapter. 

These Scriptures show conclusively that the re- 
surrection of the dead was known and clearly ap- 
prehended by patriarchs and prophets. As Jesus 
Christ came, not only to save from sin, but to 
abolish death, and annul the curse incurred by the 
sin of man, it seems most probable, that in the prom- 
ises of a Eedeemer, made from the beginning, this 
one prominent part of the object of his mission 
was clearly announced for the confirmation of the 
faith and hope of the faithful. This view of the 
subject furnishes a rational exposition of the Scrip- 
tures quoted, and shows the ground of the faith of 
those who, in olden time, looked amid life's perils 
and miseries for a ^' better resurrection." 

The position here taken is confirmed from the 
consideration, that the resurrection of the dead 
was not first revealed by Christ after his advent, 
but was distinctly known among the Jews at his ap- 
pearing, and for centuries before. Thus, 175 years 
before the birth of our Saviour, it is related, in the 
apochryphal book of Maccabees, 7: 9, ^'that in 
the persecutions of Antiochus Epiphanes, Eleazer, 
a mother and her seven sons endured the most 
cruel torments with patience, and died in the as- 
sured hope of a glorious resurrection." ^' Thou, like 
a fury," said one of the sons, 'Hakest us out of the 
present life, but the king of the world shall raise us 
up, who have died for his lous, unto everlasting life." 



A CLEAREK LIGHT. 97 

At the time of our Lord's appearance we find 
that the doctrine was held by the Pharisees, and is 
repeatedly referred to as a well-known truth among 
the Jews. 

The opinion of some learned men that the doc- 
trine of the transmigration of souls from one body 
to another, so commonly held in ancient times, and at 
the present day among the Indians and Chinese, is 
a perversion or corruption of the originally -revealed 
doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, is not im- 
probable. Herodotus informs us, that the ancient 
Egyptians said, " That the soul of man is immortal, 
and that the body being corrupted, the soul goes 
into the body of one animal after another, and after 
it has gone round, or performed its circuit, through 
all terrestrial and marine animals and birds, it again 
entereth into some human body; and that this cir- 
cumvolution was completed in three thousand 
3^ears." Hence, no doubt, arose their efforts to pre- 
serve the bodies of the dead by embalming, and 
their costly tombs, hewn in, or built out of the im- 
perishable rock, to secure them for future habita- 
tion. All this looks, indeed, like a tuorruption of 
the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. 



BROUGHT OUT TO A CLEARER LIGHT IN THE NEW 
TESTAMENT. 

But this truth revealed as a glorious reality in 
the beginning, and perverted and corrupted by the 
folly and depravity of man, was indeed brought out 

5 



98 THE RESURBECTION. 

to the light, and set forth in its own bright relation 
and consequences by the teachings of our Lord, 
and especially by his own triumphant resurrection 
and ascension. It is one of the great burdens of 
the New Testament Scriptures. It is taught — 

1. By clear and repeated announcement — John^ 
5: 21, 25-29, ^'For as the Father raiseth up the 
dead, and quickeneth them ; eyen so the son quick- 
eneth whom he will. Yerily, verily, I say unto 
you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead 
shall hear the voice of the Son of God ; and they 
that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in 
himself, so hath he given to the Son to have life 
in himself; and hath given him authority to exe- 
cute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man. 
Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming in the 
which all that are in their graves shall hear his 
voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done 
good unto the resurrection of life ; and they that 
have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." 

No language could more clearly or strongly affirm, 
than this, the future resurrection of all the dead. 
Let it be noticed that it is that which is dead, in the 
grave, that is to hear the voice of the Son of Man, 
and live, and not the living spirit. 

From the fact that our Lord says, that the hour is 
not only coming, hut now is^ when the dead hear his 
voice, some have argued that only a spiritual resur- 
rection was here intended. But there is no ground 
or necessity in the passage for any such conclusion. 
Was it not a fact that at that hour or time, the dead 



A CLEARER LIGHT. 99 

did hear the voice of the Son of God and live ? Did 
he not frequently, during his ministry, raise the 
dead to life ? Did not Lazarus, and the son of the 
lone widow of Nain, and the daughter of Jairus, and 
others unnamed, hear the voice of the Son of Grod 
miraculously put forth, and live? Oar Lord, there- 
fore, in affirming that the dead at that time heard 
his voice, was only declaring what was everywhere, 
in Judea, known to be a fact. And to show his 
power to do all that he had said respecting the re- 
surrection of the dead universally, he refers to these 
facts, which were at the time repeatedly occurring in 
answer to the voice of the Son of Grod, to illustrate 
his word. 

Johuy 11 : 24, 25, ^'Martha saith unto him, I 
know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at 
the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resur- 
rection and the life : he that believeth in me, though 
he were dead, yet shall he live." 

John^ 6:39, *^ And this is the Father's will which 
hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I 
should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at 
the last day." 

Acts^ 24 : 15, And have hope toward God, which 
they themselves also abhor, that there shall be a re- 
surrection of the dead, both of the just and the un- 
just." 

Phil, 3 : 20, 21, *^For our conversation is in 
heaven ; from whence also we look for the Saviour, 
the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile 
body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious 



100 THE EESUERECTIOlSr. 

body, according to the working whereby he is able 
even to subdue all things unto himself." 

These passages show conclusively that the resur- 
rection of the dead is one of the great and peculiar 
doctrines revealed in the gospel, as a part, and a 
very glorious part of that blessed hope which it in- 
spires respecting our future destiny. 

PROVED FROM THE RESURRECTI0:N' OF CHRIST. 

The great argument presented in the New Testa- 
ment in confirmation of this doctrine, and in illus- 
tration of the nature and glory of the resurrection 
of the dead, is the fact and nature of the resurrection 
of Christ. The apostle says, ^' But now is Christ 
risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of 
them that slept." 1 Cor, 15 : 20. And again, For 
our conversation is in heaven; from whence also 
we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 
who shall change our vile tody that it may be fash- 
ioned like unto his glorious or glorified body. 
Phil 3 : 20. 

These passages bring to our view an exceedingly 
interesting fact, and one, too, of most significant im- 
port. They not only assure us that the resurrection 
of Christ is a sure pledge of ours in their time, but 
that our resurrection bodies are to be of the same 
nature precisely as his. Our vile or corruptible 
bodies are to be fashioned like unto his glorified 
body. So that, if he rose in a spiritual body, we 
shall also ; but if he rose in that same material body 



PEOVED FROM THE BESURRECTION'. 101 

whicli was crucified, and laid in the tomb of Joseph 
of Ariraathea, our resurrection will also be in mate- 
rial bodies. 

This point can be definitely settled only by an 
appeal to Scripture testimony ; and it is important 
that it should be attentively considered by all, who 
would form a scriptural estimate of the exceedingly 
glorious attractions of the resurrection state. 

In the second chapter of John's gospel we are 
told that, on a certain occasion, when the Jews de- 
manded of our Lord a sign in proof of his authority 
for doing what he did, He said, ^^ Destroy this temple, 
and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews mis- 
understanding his reference, said, ^' Forty and six 
years was this temple" — the temple at Jerusalem — 
*^ in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three 
days?" ^' But he spake of the temple of his body. 
When, therefore, he was risen from the dead, his 
disciples remembered that he said this unto them ; 
and they believed the Scriptures and the word which 
Jesus had said." 

In this passage the question is put beyond all ra- 
tional controversy, that our Lord, in predicting his 
own resurrection on the third day, had respect to his 
material body ; for it was that which the Jews could 
and would destroy, that was to be raised up. The 
spiritual nature of Christ they could not touch or 
destroy — and hence, it was clearly not his spiritual 
body merely, which was predicted to rise, but his 
mortal, material body. All this is most fully illus- 
trated and confirmed in the events that followed. 



102 THE EESUREECTIOlSr. 

When Jesus said to the Jews, ^' Destroy this tem- 
ple," this body of mine, " and in three days I will 
raise it up," he fully committed himself on a point 
most vital, from which there was no retreat, and in 
regard to which there was no room for evasion. The 
truth of his claims as the Messiah, was deliberately 
staked upon this single fact, that if they put him to 
death, as he knew they meditated, he would rise 
again to life, in that same body, on the third day. 
If he arose, then, agreeably to his own prediction, it 
would demonstrate his pretensions — if not, the fail- 
ure would prove him an impostor. 

This point, those who were instrumental in his 
death, w^ell understood, and they determined to put 
his claims to the most rigid scrutiny. And hence 
we find this record. Matt. 27: 62-64. ^'Now the 
next day that followed the day of preparation, the 
chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pi- 
late, saying, sir, we remember that that deceiver 
said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will 
rise again. Command, therefore, that the sepulchre 
be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples 
come by night, and steal him awaj^, and say unto the 
people. He is risen from the dead : so the last error 
shall be worse than the first." 

Now, all this arrangement could have reference 
only to that body which had died, and it showed a 
determination to test the truth or falsehood of the 
Saviour's pretensions to the utmost, confident of a 
triumph over him whom they regarded with ab- 
horrence. 



PEOVED FROM THE RESUERECTION. 103 

A most critical period was now reached in tlie 
history of the eventful life of our Lord, and hence, 
when his dead body was laid in the tomb, and the 
stone which closed the door sealed — around that sep- 
ulchre the most wakeful suspicion prevailed, the 
most watchful vigilance was exercised, and every 
precaution was taken to guard that body, in order 
to decide the fact wl^ether that hody^ which diecl^ and 
was laid in the grave, should continue there lifeless, 
beyond the specified time, or rise to life again as 
predicted. 

It was a time of deep anxiety and suspense. The 
powers of light and darkness all around were awake, 
and watching the result. The soldiers silently pa- 
raded about the tomb, and the chief priests and 
Pharisees, anticipating a triumph, awaited the issue 
with deep and anxious emotion. Hour after hour 
rolled away. The first and the second nights were 
passed, and all was still. But the third day came, 
and that temple which had been destroyed was re- 
built — that body which lay in the tomb was re- ani- 
mated, and re-united to the immortal part which 
went with the soul of the penitent thief to paradise 
on the day of his death. 

Of this there is the most ample proof in the sev- 
eral accounts given by the evangelists, appointed as 
witnesses of his resurrection. 

Passing over a number of incontrovertible circum- 
stances which demonstrate the resurrection of that 
material body of our Lord, which was crucified, and 



104 THE RESUEEECTION. 

died, we will first notice his appearance to his disci- 
ples at Jerusalem, recorded in Lulce^ 24 : 36-46. 

He had appeared to two of the brethren on their 
way to Emmaus, and was made known to them in the 
breaking of bread. While these two, having returned 
to Jerusalem, were relating to the other disciples 
what things were done in the way, and how he was 
made known to them, Jesus himself suddenly stood 
in the midst of them, and said, ^'Teace be unto you.'' 
But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed 
that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, 
"Why are ye terrified ? and why do thoughts arise 
in your hearts ? Behold my hands and my feet, 
that it is I myself; handle me and see — for a spirit 
hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have. And 
when he had thus spoken, he showed them his 
hands and his feet, bearing the marks of the nails. 
And while they yet believed not for joy, and won- 
dered, he said unto them. Have ye here any meat ? 
And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of 
a honey-comb, and he took it, and did eat it before 
them." 

This is an exceedingly interesting passage, and 
one which demonstrates, by a series of facts, the 
reality of the resurrection of the material body of 
our Lord. 

1. The disciples, affrighted, supposed it was a 
spirit they saw ; but, to correct this impression, the 
risen Saviour exhorted them not to be troubled, but 
to come and satisfy themselves that he was not a 
spirit, by beholding his hands and his feet — the 



PROVED FKOM THE RESUERECTIOIsr. 105 

very scars of the wounds which had been made by 
the piercing of the nails and the spear : showing 
that it was the same body that was crucified, that 
had been raised, and in no sense a merely spiritual, 
etherial, or sublimated substance. 

2. The risen Saviour positively declared that he 
was not a spirit, but had a body with flesh and 
bones, as other men. '^ Behold my hands and my 
feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see for a 
spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have." 
He shows us here a distinction between a material 
body and spirit. A spirit hath not flesh and bones. 
It is something distinct from matter. But he, in his 
resurrection body, had flesh and bones, and, there- 
fore, manifestly had a material body. 

3. And then, farther to demonstrate to them this 
great and fundamental fact, which he seemed anx- 
ious to impress upon them, that he was not a spirit, 
but had a material body, he said, '' Have ye here 
any meat ? And they gave him a piece of a broiled 
fish and a honey-comb, and he took it, and did eat 
it before them.^' Now the Lord did, in truth, eat 
this fish and honey-comb, or he did not. If he did 
not, he was guilty of practising upon them a gross 
deception, which it vfould be impious to impute to 
our Lord. But if he did eat them, it demonstrates 
that he had a material body, as really as before his 
crucifixion. 

But Thomas, one of the eleven, was not with them 
when Jesus thus appeared. And when it was told 
him what had occurred, it was so wonderful and, to 

5^ 



106 THE EESUEBECTION. 

him, incredible, that he said, '^ Except I shall see in 
his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger 
into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into 
his side, I will not believe." Jb/m, 20 : 25. Well, 
Jesus gave him, as he did the other disciples, this 
visible and sensible demonstration of his risen body. 

John^ 20 : 26, 29, ^' And after eight days, again 
his disciples were within, and Thomas with them : 
then came Jesus, the door being shut, and stood in 
the midst, and said, * Peace be unto you.' Then 
saith he to Thomas, ^ Eeach hither thy finger, and 
behold my hands ; and reach hither thy hand, and 
thrust it into my side ; and be not faithless, but be- 
lieving.' And Thomas answered, and said unto 
him, ^My Lord and my God.' Jesus saith unto 
him, ' Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast 
believed : blessed are they which have not seen, and 
yet have believed.' " 

Evidence could not be furnished more direct, or 
completely demonstrative than this, that the risen 
body of our Lord was the same material body as 
that which was crucified. The testimony given 
shows that it was a body which had flesh and bones 
' — a body which could eat and drink, which could 
be handled with material hands, and which bore in 
it the marks of the nails and the spear made on 
Calvary. 

This was the body of our Lord which was glori- 
fied, and with this he ascended on high, in presence 
of his chosen witnesses. That any further change 
ever passed upon his body after his ascension, ren- 



EEANIMATION OF THAT WHICH DIES. 107 

dering it spiritual in distinction from matter, or 
more etherial and sublimated than it was when 
handled by the disciples, we have no warrant to 
affirm in Scripture. The clear import of Scripture 
is, that he did not and never will put off that mate- 
rial part of our nature, which he has taken into an 
indissoluble and eternal union with himself. 

In determining, therefore, that the resurrection 
body of our Lord was material, we have decided the 
nature of our own resurrection bodies. For, says 
the apostle, ^' Now is Christ risen from the dead, and 
become the first fruits or earnest of them that sleep." 
His resurrection is a proof and pledge, and an illus- 
tration of that of others, which could not be, were 
his not of the same nature and character as all 
others. This point is still more definitely settled by 
a passage already quoted, Phil. 8 : 21, ''For our 
conversation is in heaven ; from whence also we 
look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who 
shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned 
like unto his glorious body." 

In this passage the pattern is given, according to 
which our bodies are to be fashioned at the resur- 
rection. It has been shown that the raised and glori- 
fied body of our Lord was material ; and it is there- 
fore demonstrated that ours will also be material. 

THE REAlSriMATIOlS' OF THAT WHICH DIES. 

The doctrine of the resurrection of our material 
bodies, is still further confirmed, from the considera- 



108 THE BESUERECTIOlSr. 

tion, that it is the uniform testimony of Scripture, 
that it is that which dies, that is to be quickened or 
made alive. The prophet Daniel says, ^^ And many 
of them that sleep in the dust of the earthy or in the 
grave, shall awake." Our Lord says, '' Marvel not 
at this : for the hour is coming, in which all that are 
in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come 
forth." The Apostle Paul^ in answering the ques- 
tion in 1 Cor, 15 : 85, ^'How are the dead raised up, 
and with what bodies do they come ?" says, " Thou 
fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened," or 
made alive, ^' except it die" — thus showing that there 
can be no resurrection of the dead except in respect 
to those who have died. AVithout multiplying 
quotations, it may confidently be affirmed to be the 
uniform testimony of Scripture, that it is that which 
dies which is to be raised up. If so, then it must 
be the material body ; for no other ever dies. The 
spiritual nature or body of man does not, and cannot 
die, and therefore it cannot be quickened or raised 
from the dead. It must then be. the material body 
which is to rise. The argument from Scripture on 
this point is conclusive and irrefutable. Let us turn 
now to other considerations which strikingly cor- 
roberate and sustain the view taken. 



BODY ESSENTIAL TO MIND. 

The resurrection of our material bodies from the 
grave, is undoubtedly purely a Scriptural doctrine. 
And yet in the light which the Divine Word sheds 



BODY ESSENTIAL TO MIND. 109 

Tipon this subject, a presumptive argument may be 
drawn in its favor from the wonderful mechanism 
and powers of the human body. The mechanism 
of the human frame is exceedingly curious, and in- 
tricately wonderful. The body is a temple or dwell- 
ing-place of the immortal mind, and was designed 
as a combination of instruments through which its 
development and external manifestation was to be 
made to the world, and its divinely-derived powers 
exercised. Now, the wonderful powers of the human 
body, and its wisely and nicely-adjusted adaptation 
to the faculties and destiny of the mind, seem clearly 
to indicate that its existence will be necessary to 
the full development of mind in a future world, and 
to its highest welfare. 

1. Consider what astonishing and wonderful 
powers the members of the body possess, as instru- 
ments of the soul, as manifested in all the beau- 
tiful, the useful, the noble, and grand productions 
of mechanical art, as seen in the world. Who rears 
the beautiful mansion, the gorgeous temple, and 
adorns them with all their splendid and architectural 
members and proportions ? Who forms and puts 
together the complicated, the highly-finished and 
nicely-adjusted parts of a steam-engine, and other 
machinery by which the elements of nature are ap- 
propriated to the use of man, and by which the 
most beautiful and astonishing results are produced ? 
By what agency has the magnetic telegraph been con- 
structed, by which the lightning is made to answer 
to the call of man, and to furnish a highway of 



110 THE RESUEREOTION. 

thouglit for the nations ? The answer iSj these are 
the products of the human mind, accomplished by 
the instrumentalities of the members of the human 
body. The mind conceived and devised these com- 
binations of wisdom, utility and beauty, but the 
mind could never have executed its conceptions, or 
have given form to its ideas in external nature, had 
it not been for its mechanical agent the body, fur- 
nished for its use by the Great Creator. 

In every triumph of mechanical art we see not 
only the manifestations of active intellect, but the 
wonderful powers and adaptations of the human 
body to all the conceptions and combinations of the 
ever-active and aspiring mind. It is manifest that 
the body is now necessary to the development and 
highest achievements of mind, and essential to its 
welfare and happiness. Will it not be so hereafter ? 
Will not the mind need a body, wdth. powers simi- 
lar to those now possessed, refined and augmented, 
as its minister or agent in the execution of those 
wonderful schemes which will be devised and en- 
joyed in its enlarged and eternal development? 
Will the mind, in a future world, be able to do its 
will, and accomplish its pleasure independently of 
a body as now possessed, and better attain the high 
destinies of its being? Certainly we are not war- 
ranted in such a conclusion, by anything we can 
see within or about us in the present world. 

The body, with its various mechanical organs and 
powers, is now essential to the progress and achieve- 
ments of mind. What could the spirit do without 



BODY ESSENTIAL TO MIND. Ill 

it ? What execute of good or evil ? Now, the fact 
that the body is so essential to the operations of 
mind in the present world, seems clearly to indi- 
cate that a body must be essential to its highest 
well-being in any world. And this truth the Scrip- 
tures declare in the doctrine of the resurrection ; 
and hence it may be seen that the doctrine is 
natural, and in accordance with the nature and 
wants of the mind. 

But if the mind, as some suppose, will rise to a 
higher state of perfection when emancipated from 
the body — if it will then be free from all that im- 
pedes and clogs its upward progress, why was it 
ever connected with a body ? Is it not an impeach- 
ment, virtually, of the wisdom and goodness of the 
Creator, to say that the body, as such, is a clog to 
the mind, and that it will better attain its highest 
end when disconnected with matter ? A body dis- 
eased and corrupted, and enfeebled by sinful indulg- 
ence, may utterly fail to accomplish the high end 
designed in connection with the mind, and does 
undoubtedly therefore hinder and defeat that pro- 
gress which might otherwise have been made. But 
this disastrous result is not to be attributed to the 
body. Would such have been the result had no 
sin or disease ever have corrupted or enfeebled the 
body ? We repeat the inquiry, why, according to 
the unnatural and unproved assertion, that the body 
— or a body — impedes the mind, did God form for 
man a material body, with such wonderful me- 
chanical powers, and associate it essentially with 



112 THE EESUERECTION. 

the mind in all its present pursuits, probation, and 
enjoyments? 

Did he do it that he might simply dash it in 
pieces as a vile vessel at death ? or only that in it 
he might imprison and impede, afEict and torment 
the Spirit ? How unreasonable ! 

In many cases the association of mind with the 
body in this life answers no valuable purpose. How 
many die in infancy and childhood ! How many 
by bodily disease and deformity suffer ! Did God 
make these in vain ? It wou.ld seem that he did, 
or what is worse, only that they might be tor- 
mentors, if they are not to live hereafter. Now, 
there is no way in which we can conceive that the 
goodness and wisdom of God can be vindicated in 
the construction of the human form, and its essen- 
tial association with mind, but on the ground of 
the Scriptural doctrine — that he intended the body 
to be as immortal as the mind, and its eternal asso- 
ciate and helper. Had man never sinned, accord- 
ing to the clearly-implied teachings of Scripture, 
his body would have lived on in immortal bloom as 
long as his mind. 

But sin for a time has interrupted the order of 
heaven, and death has entered our world. But the 
second Adam will restore the ruins of the first, and 
re-establish the union of mind and body in an ever- 
endeared, immortal, and glorious form. 



HiaHER ADAPTATIONS OF THE BODY. 113 



THE HIGHER ADAPTATIONS OF THE BODY. 

But there are other and higher powers of the 
human body than those which have been named ; 
which also seem clearly to intimate its high and 
glorious destiny. How wonderful, for example, are 
the powers of eloquence ! What vast multitudes 
have been charmed and enchanted, and swayed to 
and fro as the trees of the forest before the tempest, 
by the eloquence of such men as Demosthenes 
and Cicero in ancient times, and in modern times 
by such men as "Whitefield and a Patrick Henry ! 
And yet there have been, and are now, multitudes 
in the world equally as eminent in their sphere as 
these. 

Now, all this power of eloquence is not merely the 
effect of mind : for would the mind be thus eloquent, 
and produce these thrilling effects independently of 
the body? surely not. To produce this effect the 
lungs heave, the muscles of the throat contract and 
dilate — the tongue moves obedient to the will — ^the 
lips open or are compressed — the countenance beams 
— ^the eye brightens and sparkles with emotion — and 
the whole body moves and gestures the sentiments 
and passions of the soul. Could the mind, then, be 
eloquent without a body ? All these things go to 
show the wonderful powers of the body, and its per- 
fect adaptation to the nature, and desires, and de- 
signs of the presiding spirit. The mind certainly 
could not fulfil its destiny in life without the body. 



114 THE RESUEEECTION. 

Can it do without these aids and powers in another 
life ? Who that was authorized has ever said it can? 
All the analogies of nature then, in harmony with 
the doctrine of the resurrection, seem to indicate the 
necessity of a material body to the highest welfare 
and development of the immortal mind. 

And then, too, see the power of music, performed 
through material organs, to charm, and elevate, and 
enrapture the soul. How sweet are human voices 
tuned to harmony and love ! The powers of a Jenny 
Lind, and a Madam Sontag, show what human voices 
can do, and what they may become under favorable 
circumstances. What thousands hang in ecstasy 
upon the thrilling notes which warble from their 
throats ! How strangely wonderful that organism 
which can produce such varied, pleasing, and excit- 
ing effects ! And yet, no doubt, there are thousands 
equally gifted in the wide world, unknown and un- 
cultivated; for, — 

" Full many a gem of purest ray serene, 

The dark unfathomed caves of ocean bear : 
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, 
And waste its sweetness on the desert air." 

Will their sweetness never be known? Will 
they not in another life exhale their fragrance? 
They will, according to the doctrine of the resurrec- 
tion. And if such thrilling effects can be produced 
by music on earth, performed through material or- 
gans, oh, what will be the music of that great mul- 
titude which no man can number, around the 



HIGHER ADAPTATIONS OF THE BODY. 115 

throne, whose voices in the resurrection state will, as 
no\y, be the result of material organization, tuned to 
sweetest harmony and love, as it comes over the soul 
as the rushing of mighty waters, or as the whispers 
of gentlest zephyrs ! Is such music as can be pro- 
cured through material organization, and material 
things, only to be known and heard in a world of 
sin ? Can it be that this bodily organism, capable of 
such wonderful effects, is only destined to live dur- 
ing life's short years of suffering and trial ? Or does 
not rather nature intimate that a body so marvellous 
in its construction, and so wisely adapted to the uses 
and desires of the mind, should live and accompany 
the immortal spirit in all its eternal progress ? 

All these considerations must clearly show the 
entire harmony of the doctrine of the resurrection of 
our material bodies, as taught in Scripture^ with the 
nature of the human soul, and its highest develop- 
ment and welfare. And this harmony and adapta- 
tion might be further argued from the exquisite 
arrangement and power of the nervous system to 
communicate the most intense pleasure to the soul, 
as is often experienced, and from the activity of all 
the senses in bringing the mind into immediate com- 
munication with the perfections of God, manifested 
in the boundless material universe. But further we 
cannot now go. The theme is a delightful one, and 
is adapted to shadow forth the transcendent attrac- 
tions of the resurrection state. 



116 THE EESUREECTIOISr. 



A PHYSIOLOGICAL OBJECTION ANSWEKED. 

To the resurrection of our material bodies there 
are some common objections constantly urged by 
the unbelieving, which it will be important to con- 
sider, before noticing more extendedly the glories, 
and immortal results of the doctrine. 

Our bodies die, and are in the course of dissolu- 
tion resolved into their original elements. Often 
the substances of which they are composed are scat- 
tered, and borne in fragments and particles to widely 
diflferent parts of the earth ; and in the processes of 
nature enter again and again into the composition 
of vegetable and animal bodies indefinitely. Now, 
from this, unbelievers have maintained that it is an 
utter impossibility and absurdity, that the dead 
should be raised, whose bodies have been dissolved, 
dissipated, and formed into countless new combina- 
tions. But this objection rests upon a false assump- 
tion in regard to what is necessary to constitute 
personal identity, and a perverted view of the teach- 
ings of Scripture. It supposes that all, and the very 
same particles of matter which compose our bodies 
when they die, must necessarily be gathered up from 
their wide dispersion through the world, and ex- 
tracted from every other combination, vegetable, 
animal, or human, into which they may have enter- 
ed, and be reconstructed, if the dead are ever raised. 
But as -some of the substances which composed the 
body of one man, when he died, may have entered 



A PHYSIOLOGICAL QUESTION ANSWEEED. 117 

into the bodies of others when they died, the resur- 
rection of the self-same body is regarded as utterly 
impossible. 

But the Scriptures do not teach that the same par- 
ticles of matter in all respects will enter into our 
future bodies, or be at all necessary to the resurrec- 
tion. When they declare that the dead will be 
raised, they use the language of common life, and 
mean that our raised bodies will be the bodies that 
died, in the same sense that our bodies are the same 
at different periods of our lives. When it is said 
that a man has the same body now that he had 
twenty years ago, nothing absurd, or that is contrary 
to consciousness is uttered. Every one feels and 
believes that he has at all times the same body in a 
popular sense, however great the change produced 
by waste or supply. It bears every scar, or mark, 
or deformity, once made permanently upon it. And 
yet it is well known that, philosophically speaking, 
a man has not a body composed of the same particles 
at any two distinct periods of his life. But yet a fall 
knowledge of this does not alter his consciousness 
that he is always the same being, in body as well as 
soul. At one period of a man's life, he is in the 
bloom of health, and then in a short time he is re- 
duced by disease to a mere skeleton, and then again 
the return of health clothes him with new flesh and 
vigor. And yet through all these changes, he feels 
and knows that he has the same body, as a matter 
of consciousness, and in accordance with the language 
of common life. 



118 THE KESUEEECTION. 

It is supposed that our bodies, by waste and 
accretioiij undergo an entire change once in seven 
years. And yet have I not the same body I had 
seven years ago ? I feel that I am myself, and re- 
cognize my body as the same, whatever changes 
may have taken place. Now, the sum of all this is, 
that the same identical particles of matter are not neces- 
sary at all times to constitute personal identity. Any 
human form may throw off, by piecemeal, the whole 
of the matter contained in its formation, and take to 
itself new substances of the same kind, and accord- 
ing to the same laws of organization, in connection 
with the same mind, and still preserve its personal 
identity. All this we know to be true. 

So in the resurrection, it will not be necessary 
that all the same substances should enter into the 
raised bodies, which were in them at death, to con- 
stitute them the same. This the Scriptures abun- 
dantly declare, and they are thus in harmony with 
constantly observed facts in physiology. In 1 Cor. 
15, the apostle Paul teaches most definitely that our 
resurrection bodies vnll not be composed of all the 
same particles of matter as in the present life. 



Paul's view of personal identity 

In answer to the question, '^How are the dead 
raised up, and with what bodies do they come ?" 
He says, ^' Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not 
quickened except it die ; and that which thou sowest, 



PAUL'S VIEW OF PERSONAL IDENTITY. 119 

thou sowest not that body which shall be, but it 
bears grain ; it may chance of wheat or some other 
grain. But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased 
him, and to every seed his own, or its own body ;" 
that is, he gives to wheat the body of wheat, to corn 
the body of corn, and so from whatever kind of seed 
is sown there springs a hke body. 

The apostle does not intend to say that there is a 
perfect analogy between grain sown, and human 
bodies buried in the grave ; but he does mean to 
teach, that as from grain sown, and which dies in 
the ground, there springs another body or grain of 
the same kind, though not containing the same par- 
ticles of matter : so from our dead bodies, buried in 
earth, there will at the resurrection spring another 
body of the same kind, and containing, perhaps, 
enough of the old body to form the basis of the neviT. 
*^Itis, perhaps, a twentieth part of a grain of wheat 
which is sown and dies in the ground, which springs 
up and forms a part of the new grain ; the rest rots 
in the ground and remains. It is not needed in the 
new body which God gives the wheat, and is not 
called forth again. So we are taught, our bodies 
which die will not be the same, as to particles of 
matter, as those which arise." Old particles will be 
dropped, and, for aught we know, new ones as- 
sumed, in that wonderful change which is to fit us 
for the high destinies in reserve. 

If, then, all the same particles of matter which 
constitute our present bodies, do not or will not 
enter into our future bodies, the argument against 



120 THE RESUERECTION. 

the resurrection, founded upon the assumption that 
they will, and that they cannot be gathered up, en- 
tirely fails ; for they are not necessary to accomplish 
all that the Scriptures predict. 

Admitting, then, that large portions of the human 
body after death do enter into the composition of 
other living bodies, in such a manner as to render it 
impossible to gather them up, to reincorporate them 
into the new ones, the whole difficulty vanishes at once 
on the Scriptural doctrine that all the same particles 
will not be raised. As God can give to the wheat 
a new body, and yet it be wheat still, possessing the 
same nature as the old, so he can in the resurrection, 
if need be, give men bodies, and yet preserve our 
personal identity. 

If any portion of the old body will be necessary 
to form the basis or nucleus of the new, in order to 
constitute it in every sense the same, it cannot be 
proved that enough may not be retained from the 
composition of other bodies to answer this purpose. 
'' The human body, as that of all other animals, is 
composed of the same substances as those which 
constitute large and essential parts of the mineral 
kingdom, — nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen, 
potash, soda, phosphorus, sulphur, lime, and iron." 
Now, may not a small portion of these gaseous or 
solid substances be preserved, by the power of God, 
so as to form the basis of the new body ? And if 
there could not, a body composed of these sub- 
stances, under the same organization, and in connec- 
tion with the same individual mind, would be the 



A WONDERFUL TRANSFORMATION. 121 

same body in Scripture language. It is obvious, 
therefore, that no facts in physiological science are 
contradicted, by the doctrine of the resurrection of 
our material bodies. 



A WONDERFUL TRANSFORMATION. 

The Scriptures teach that our resurrection bodies 
will not only not contain all the matter they now 
do, but that, in many respects, they will be very 
different from^ what they now are, and far more 
beautiful and glorious. They will pass through a 
wonderful transformation, in their resurrection and 
transition to immortal glory. This is clearly and 
beautifully illustrated in the apostle's description. 
He says of the body, ^^ It is sown in corruption, it is 
raised in incorruption : it is sown in dishonor, it is 
raised in glory : it is sown in weakness, it is raised 
in power ; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a 
spiritual bodj^'^ And again he says, ^^ Behold, I 
show you a mystery : we shall not all sleep, but we 
shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling 
of an eye, at the last trump : for the trumpet shall 
sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, 
and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must 
put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on 
immortality." 

This language certainly denotes a most wonderful 
and glorious change in the raised bodies, yet not such 
as to destroy our conscious and acknowledged identity. 

1. " It is sown in corruption^'' All the tendencies 
6 



122 THE RESURKECTION. 

of the body at death, are to loathsome corruption 
and dissohition. In life we are subject to disease 
and decay, and our dead we are compelled to bury 
out of our sight. But it will be raised in incorrup- 
tion. It will then be so changed, that it will be no 
longer subject to disease, decay, and death. 

2. '' It is sown in dishonor ^ It is laid in the grave 
an unsightly object, and it dies as a malefactor under 
the righteous sentence of heaven. But in the resur- 
rection, it will be exceedingly beautiful. It iviU be 
raised in glory. It will be fashioned like unto 
Christ's glorious body, and made resplendent with 
his beauty. As Grod forms the diamond so beauti- 
ful from charcoal, the blackest of substances, so he 
will, of the corruptible and inglorious body, form 
one in the resurrection, surpassingly beautiful, and 
resplendently glorious. 

3. ^' It is soion in weakness^ And how exceed- 
ingly weak it is ! How incapable of resisting the 
attacks of disease, or the thousand agents at work 
for its destruction ! How the strong man bows and 
sinks, a helpless thing, into the embraces of the 
tomb ! Surely it is sown in weakness ; but it will 
he raised in power. In the raised state, it will, no 
doubt, be endowed with marvellous powers — with 
the power of resisting all evil — with vastly increased 
powers of locomotion — with powers fully adequate 
to all the wants, and energies, and pure desires of 
the aspiring mind. It will know fatigue no more, 
nor exhaustion, and will not need to be invigorated 
by sleep and tender care. 



IMPORTANCE OF A SPIRITUAL BODY. 123 

4. ''/^ is sown a natural hodyP It is now a body 
possessed of many merely animal instincts and sen- 
sual propensities and appetites. It hungers and 
thirsts, and is subject to many vile affections and 
lusts, by which the mind is often degraded and en- 
slaved. But not so in the resurrection. It will be 
raised a spiritual body — that is, a body freed from 
all merely animal and degrading propensities, en- 
tirely adapted to the wants and pursuits of the 
mind, which is spiritual, and wholly under its con- 
trol. It will hence, in a very high and important 
sense, be a spiritual body, perfectly adapted to, and 
subservient to spirit, and no longer under the do- 
minion of the flesh. Hence, we are assured by the 
Saviour, that in the resurrection, we shall neither 
marry nor be given in marriage, but shall be all as 
the angels of God, and equal one to another. 



THE IMPORT OF A SPIRITUAL BODY. 

From the fact, that in the resurrection, our bodies 
are to be spiritual, some have argued that they would 
no longer be material. But this cannot be true; 
for it has already been shown that they must and 
will be material. The term spiritual is not used 
here in opposition to material, but to that which is 
merely natural or animal. The phraseology of the 
passage shows conclusively that this spiritual body 
is material still ; for, let it be noticed, it is the cor- 
ruptible body that is changed into the incorrupt!- 



124 THE RESUEEECTION. 

ble ; the loathsome, dishonored body that becomes 
the ^beautiful and glorious ; the weak which is 
changed into the powerful ; and the natural body 
which we now have, that rises to the spiritual ; for, 
says the apostle, ^^ we must all be changed." But 
there is no evidence that God ever does, or can 
change matter into spirit. We know of but two sub- 
stances in the universe, matter and mind, and what 
is not one must be the other. 

The fact that it is this corruptible, natural body, 
we now have, which is changed into the spiritual, 
shows that the spiritual body cannot be spirit. It is 
a body denominated spiritual, we judge, because it 
will be adapted in a high degree to spirit. Freed 
from all merely animal and grovelling propensities, 
it will become subservient pre-eminently and only to 
the higher destinies of the immortal mind. It will 
be material still after its transformation, only in a 
state of higher perfection than we now possess. The 
resurrection body of our Lord was no doubt spiritual, 
and yet we have seen that it was material, having 
the distinctive properties of matter, and bearing 
about in it the infallible marks that it was the same 
that was crucified. And the Scriptures give us no 
intimation that his body was changed from matter 
to spirit, at his ascension. Now, as our vile bodies are 
to be changed, and fashioned like unto his body 
which was glorified, it is certain that they must be 
material. 

A body entirely subservient to mind, and the 
minister only of its holy and benevolent purposes, 



IMPOKTANCE OF A SPIEITUAL BODY. 125 

may, with great propriety, be called a spiritual 
body. And sucli may be the control of the spirit 
over the body in the resurrection state, that it may 
transport it, at will, from place to place, or from 
world to world, as our Lord seemed to have con- 
veyed his, without the usual slow process of locomo- 
tion. 

Again, the Apostle assures us, '^ That flesh and 
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." From 
this, some have supposed that material bodies, such 
as the Saviour had after his resurrection, cannot en- 
ter heaven. But there are many forms and modifi- 
cations of matter w^hich are not flesh and blood, and 
therefore, the declaration that flesh and blood, as 
they are now constituted, unchanged and unpurified, 
cannot inherit the kingdom of God, does not assert 
that material bodies, in some form, may not enter. 
Let these vile bodies be so changed that they shall 
no longer be flesh and blood, and the apostolic 
declaration will no longer apply. 

But the connection in which these words are 
found, and the qualifying and explanatory exposition 
given, shows what the apostle meant, and that he 
had no idea of teaching that our bodies would not 
be material as much so as they are now. 

He says, ^'Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and 
blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God ; neither 
doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold I show 
you a mystery : we shall not all sleep (or die,) but 
we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twink- 
ling of an eye, at the last trump : for the trumpet 



126 THE KESUKEECTION. 

shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorrupti- 
ble, and we shall he changed. For this corruption 
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put 
on immortality. So when this corruption shall have 
put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put 
on immortahty, then shall be brought to pass the 
saying that is written ; Death is swallowed up in 
victory. O death, where is thy sting ? grave 
where is thy victory ? The sting of death is sin ; and 
the strength of sin is the law ; but thanks be to God, 
who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

Now, is it not most manifest from this description 
of the apostle, that he did not contemplate the lay- 
ing aside of the material body, hut only its change 
from mortal to immortal, from corruption to incor- 
ruption ? He meant to say that flesh and blood as 
now constituted, or the human body, in its present 
gross, mortal, and corruptible state, would not par- 
take of the pure and refined pleasures of an immor- 
tal, incorruptible state. To fit it for this, it must 
undergo a change according to the order of God's 
arrangement, in order to adapt it to its higher and 
more glorious sphere of being and employment. It 
is clear that the apostle meant nothing more than 
this ; for he says, *' that when this corruptible shall 
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have 
put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass 
the saying that is written. Death is swallowed up in 
victory. death, where is thy sting ? grave, 
where is thy victory ? Now, if it is not the mate- 



EMBLEMS IN NATURE. 127 

rial body that is raised, then there is no triumph 
over death and the grave. Death holds all he ever 
gets, and the greedy grave continues to sway his 
cruel sceptre over the generations of the dead for- 
ever. This exulting and triumphant language can 
have force only in application to the resurrection of 
that material body which dies. In its resurrection, 
a change will be produced in it miraculously, by the 
power of God, to fit it for a higher sphere ; but. it 
will be material still, and may lin^ye flesh and bones, 
as our Lord had after his resurrection, if it has not 
Jiesh and blood as in its present corruptible and mor- 
tal constitution. 



EMBLEMS IN NATURE. 

We have in nature many emblems of the trans- 
formation of our mortal bodies, which strikingly and 
beautifully illustrate the changes through which a 
body may pass, in fitting it for a higher sphere of 
being, without changing its material nature, or de- 
stroying its identity. Innumerable worms, and the 
loathsome caterpillar, which we would, perhaps, 
shudder to touch, creeping beneath our feet, are, in 
in their season, transformed from the larva to the 
beautiful chrysalis, and thence to the gaudy butter- 
fly ; whence they rise to a new sphere of life, sub- 
sistence, and enjoyment, winging their way over 
smiling nature, and sipping at every flower which 
God has opened for their pleasure. Now, these 



128 THE RESUREECTION. 

worms are just as much material in their higher 
state of development, as in their lower ; and were 
they endowed with memory and intelligence, they 
would, no doubt, feel conscious that they were the 
same beings through all their changes. 

So, in the resurrection, we may pass through 
just as great changes, as the caterpillar, and still 
preserve our materiality and conscious identity. In 
that change from mortal to immortal, from corrup- 
tion to incorruption, from weakness to power, which 
is to fit us for our higher sphere of being; our 
bodies may be as much more beautiful than they are 
now, as the butterfly is than the caterpillar; and 
our powers of locomotion and our sphere of enjoy- 
ment may as greatly transcend those now possessed, 
if not infinitely more so, as do those of the soaring 
bu.tterfly, the crawling worm. In view then of these 
considerations, what is there unnatural, unreason- 
able, and undesirable in the resurrection of our ma- 
terial bodies ? 



THE world's cemetery. 

One more objection we must notice before we 
close this part of our subject. A correspondent of 
the New- York Evangelist notices an article in a 
number of the Democratic Eeview, presenting cer- 
tain objections to the received doctrine of the resur- 
rection of the body, which, as it is not long, we will 
transcribe : 



THE WORLD'S CEMETERY. 129 

*^ The statements to which, we have referred are 
the following : — Now, if a resurrection of all who 
have lived should take place, even within a short 
time, without even any material increase of the vast 
number who have lived upon the earth, where 
would they find room, even for the shortest space 
of time, to dwell in ? Their numbers would cover 
the whole surface of the earth in one solid mass, to 
the depth or heigth of miles in thickness." — p. 244. 
^' And again, according to computation on the sub- 
ject, there has already existed on the earth a suffi- 
cient number of inhabitants to constitute a bulk of 
matter equal in amount to the whole contents of 
this globe, which amount will increase as time rolls 
on, until it may exceed it by ten-thousand fold." — 
p. 223. 

^' These are grave statements ; let us see what they 
amount to when weighed in the balance of a just 
and undeniable demonstration. The flood, which 
emptied the earth of its inhabitants, took place in 
the year of the world 1656. The whole number of 
the human race previous to that period, and on all 
the earth would not exceed in roulid numbers to 
more than as many millions, and probably not 
half that number. But w^e will put it down at 
1,556,000,000. Since the flood, there have been, say 
4,200 years ; that is, forty-two centuries. Now, it is 
supposed that the earth changes its population three 
times in a century. There have been, then, one 
hundred and twenty-six generations since the days 
of Noah. There are at present upon the earth's 



130 THE EESUERECTION. 

surface, according to the most accurate accounts 
1,000,000,000 of inhabitants. But as this number 
diminishes in proportion as you turn back towards 
the days of Noah, it is unquestionably above and 
beyond the truth, to say that five hundred milhons 
is the mean number that have been upon the earth 
since the day that JSToah came out of the ark. This 
sum is to be multiphed by one hundred and twenty- 
six, the number of generations since that period, 
which gives in round numbers 63,000,000,000. 
This sum, added to that which had been upon the 
earth previous to the flood, gives 64,656,000,000. 
But we will call the whole, in round numbers, 
65,000,000,000. 

^' We will next determine how many can be buried 
on a square rod, or sixteen and a half feet square. 
Taking the human race as they die, of different 
sizes, there can be at least one hundred and thirty; 
for we are at liberty to lay them in any position, so 
that one shall not overlay, or lie on another. "Well, 
then, we place each body on its side. We will take 
from the square rod a strip, six and a half feet in 
width, on which we will lay persons of that height, 
the head of the one to the feet of the other. In this 
position it is demonstrable, that at least sixteen 
might lie in that course through. We will next take 
a strip five feet wide — we will place the bodies of 
persons of that height in the same position — and on 
this course we shall find it easy to lay at least 
twenty. Next, we will take a strip three feet wide, 
on which placing of this size, in the same position, 



THE WORLD'S CEMETERY. 131 

we can place as many as thirty. In the remaining 
strip of two feet wide, we can place as many as sev- 
enty, of children, and a large proportion of the human 
race die in childhood. These, added together, make 
the number one hundred and thirty-six, but we will 
put it down at one hundred and thirty to every 
square rod. Now, there are one hundred and sixty 
square rods in an acre, therefore, on a square acre 
we might bury 20,800; but we will put it at 20,000 
per acre. There are six hundred and forty square 
acres in every square mile ; therefore in every square 
mile we could bury 12,800,000. The State of New 
York contains 46,000 square miles. This sum mul- 
tiphed by the number just given, 12,800,000, or that 
which can be placed on every square mile, gives 
558,800,000,000. But we found only 65,000,000,000 
on the earth since the days of Adam. According to 
this, the territory of the Empire State would make 
something over nine burying grounds for the whole 
world ! And if you place the bodies in their usual 
position as they are buried, the State of New York 
would furnish land enough for at least two cemeter- 
ies for the entire race of men. 

'^ Alas, for the Eeview ! How this statement, which 
cannot be questioned, for figures cannot lie, looks by 
the side of the declaration, that there had been 
enough already on the earth to form a body approx- 
imating in size to the earth itself We heard the 
statement made, not long since, by a gentleman 
whom we had supposed incapable of committing 
such an error, that there had been a sufficient num- 



132 THE KESUREECTIOK 

ber on the eartli to cover the land at least four feet 
deep. 

^' This statement was made on a funeral occasion, 
while dwelling upon the resurrection. "We are in- 
clined to think if his eye shall fall on the above solu- 
tion or result, call it what you please, he will ' review' 
his sermon somewhat severely before he preaches it 
again." 

Most of the objections brought against this and 
kindred doctrines, are equally unfounded, and fool- 
ish as the one just noticed. 



FIEST GLOKIOUS RESULT. 

The doctrine of the resurrection of our material 
bodies, as presented in Scripture, is one so peculiarly 
beautiful and glorious, and invests our future life 
with attractions so unspeakable, that it seems to us 
surprising that any should wish to refute or deny it. 
Let us look at some of its glorious and manifold 
results. 

One of the most obvious consequences of the 
resurrection of our material bodies will be, that we 
shall be forever connected with the material uni- 
verse — with all those wonderful works of God, 
illimitable and unsearchable, which exist in the 
universe around us ; and this, too, under circum- 
stances most favorable for improvement and bound- 
less enjoyment. Our bodies will be material bodies, 
rendered immortal, incorruptible, beautiful, and 



FIKST GLOBIOUS RESULT. 133 

glorious ; witli all the senses complete and perfect, 
and in full exercise, and all under the control of a 
holy mind. 

Our minds are now too generally the servants of 
the body. Too often all their noble faculties and 
powers are enslaved by a degrading sensuality, or 
by the necessary wants and cravings of our now 
mortal and weak natures. But in the resurrection 
it will not be so. It is easy to conceive of the re- 
verse of all this, when every sense, and faculty, and 
power shall become wholly subservient to the high- 
est intellectual and moral enjoyment ; when the eye 
shall not only bring to our knowledge everything 
that is beautiful in the visible universe, but be em- 
ployed as an instrument in making observations 
upon God's glorious works, from those mighty orbs 
which roll unnumbered around us, down to the 
smallest insect ; and from the mysterious laws which 
bind suns and planets into harmonious systems and 
motions, down to the hidden principles which govern 
universal nature in all its productions — when the 
ear shall not only listen, with enraptured emotion, 
to the melody and harmony of sweet sounds, and ex- 
ulting music, as it bursts from the swelling anthems 
of the redeemed; but shall be a means of social 
intercourse, of the reception of knowledge and 
enjoyment, and endless improvement — when the 
tongue, no longer an unruly member, full of deadly 
poison, shall be a means of conveying to others the 
pure sentiments of the soul, the knowledge we have 
acquired, and the discoveries we have made, as well 



134 THE RESURKECTION. 

as an instrument by wMch we shall join in the 
music of heaven, and speak forth the praises of 
Jehovah. And so all other senses developed, or as 
yet undeveloped, under the control of a holy mind, 
and in connection with the material u.niverse, may 
be employed in the highest pursuits and purest en- 
joyments. 

All this flows necessarily as a consequence, from 
the nature of our resurrection. And it is easy to 
see that the Scriptural view of this doctrine, placing 
us thus in connection with the material universe, 
under the most favorable and exalted circumstances, 
gives to our future existence a reality and a substan- 
tiality which no other view can, and opens before 
the mind visions of glory, inconceivably grand and 
magnificent. It does not separate us from matter, 
and all the loved forms and objects of the material 
universe, as do most merely spiritual theories, and 
place us in communication with a world of ghosts, 
of phantasies, and phantasms ; but it brings us into 
certain connection, and identifies us, with God's 
glorious universe, the delighted spectators of his 
mighty works, and the students of his vast plans, as 
brought to view in the heavens which declare his 
glory. It is denied by many that spirits in another 
life have any knowledge of, or connection with, ma- 
terial things. We can neither affirm or deny any- 
thing certainly in respect to this ; for we do not 
know. The agency of angels in the affairs of our 
world, proves nothing, for it may be that they have 
some kind of material organization, by which and 



SECOND GLORIOUS RESULT. 135 

through which they exert their powers. The man- 
ner and form of their appearance, as recorded in 
Scripture, always in the form of men, favors the 
idea that they have refined material bodies. But be 
this as it may, we are certain that the resurrection 
of our material bodies, brings us into a real and 
tangible connection with the works of God as de- 
scribed. 

SECOND GLORIOUS RESULT. 

This leads to another remark and consequence of 
the resurrection, which is, that our knowledge of 
God, and of his attributes, will be acquired in a 
future state as now, for the most part through the 
work of his hands. It is manifest that we have now 
no knowledge of God, which was not derived prin- 
cipally through the medium of sensation, from our 
contact and intercourse with the material world. 
Whatever God has been pleased to reveal in his 
Word, has a direct reference to his works, or to the 
objects and operations of nature, by and through 
which his incomprehensible perfections are exhib- 
ited. And when he would reveal to us his moral 
character more clearly, and commend more attrac- 
tively his love, he did it not simply by abstract 
announcement, but by manifesting himself in the 
flesh, and thus seeking through the medium of a 
material body to illustrate himself to his creatures. 

Is it not true, therefore, that the clearest, bright- 
est views we have of God, or that creatures have 



136 THE EESUEEECTION. 

ever enjoyed, are those of " God manifest in the 
flesh." And how tender, affecting, and soul-cheer- 
ing is the knowledge and condescension here com- 
municated! Even the angels, who have stood in 
the immediate presence of the Creator, here bend 
with adoring wonder, to search into the wonders 
of God, revealed no where else so mysteriously and 
affectingly. In what other way could the Infinite 
and Invisible so clearly and becomingly have made 
himself known ? It seems, therefore, certain that 
all correct knowledge of God and his attributes is 
now derived, in some form, from his works, or 
through material form, and all our ideas of him are 
materialized, being clothed in drapery drawn from 
the external world. Do we know that there is any 
correct knowledge of God which is not thence at- 
tained ? Now, according to the doctrine of the 
resurrection, the same will be true hereafter. In all 
our employments, investigations, and enjoyments in 
a future world, we shall be constantly concerned 
with material objects, as well as conversant with 
spiritual things. Here will then exist a most strik- 
ing resemblance between our present and our future 
existence. The one will be but the continuation of 
the other, in a higher and purer state than any on 
earth have ever conceived. Nor is there anything 
unreasonable in all this. It is all in entire harmony 
with the nature and capacities of the mind, and 
with the works of God in their adaptation to the 
mind through a material body. And it is highly 
probable, if not certain, that our bodies will be as 



THIRD GLORIOUS RESULT. 137 

necessary to tlie full development and action of the 
mind in a future life as here. To accomplish all 
that God has designed in our creation, we shall 
need the aid of all our senses and bodily members, 
or God would never raise the dead, as it is pre- 
dicted he will. The doctrine of the resurrection, 
then, is in entire harmony with all that we can now 
see or know, of God and his designs, and with our 
immortal aspirings. 

And what a field for seeing and hearing, for 
thought, action, and enjoyment, will God's bound- 
less universe open to us in the resurrection state. 
Suppose our bodies were now free from all disease, 
infirmity, or imperfection, and rendered incapable 
of corruption, pain, weakness or fatigue, and were 
endowed with the power of ascending, by the will 
of God, to any world to see the wonders of Godhead 
there displayed, or to speed our way on some mis- 
sion of love to some distant orb, would not this be 
a glorious prospect ? And with a God to minister 
to our wants, and to direct our career, what higher 
perfection or felicity could we desire, were we holy 
or perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. 



THIRD GLORIOUS RESULT. 

Another result of the resurrection of our material 
bodies will be, that our bodies which have been 
associated with ns in all our trials and conflicts, 
and sufferings in life, will share with us all the re- 



138 THE RESUERECTION. 

wards of the world to come ; and all the dear forms 
which we have here loved, rendered glorious and 
immortal, will still be embraced in bonds of sweetest 
friendship and love. 

All this would seem to be only a matter of jus- 
tice. Through life the body has been the com- 
panion of the mind, and has been associated with it in 
all its probation, and in all its pursuits of righteous- 
ness or unrighteousness in training it for thfe destiny 
for which it is fitted. And is it not right that it 
should share with it in that destiny ? Does not 
justice seem to demand that the two which have 
been united on earth should be indissolubly united 
in the world to come, and mutual sharers in its 
rewards ? 

The beings, then, that shall inhabit the future 
world will be no mere ghosts or spirits, whom no 
one can touch or embrace. Theirs will be no mere 
shadowy, gauzy existence, but a tangible and 
bodily reality. There will be the warm embrace 
of friendship, and the real song of praise performed 
through material organs, giving utterance to the 
ardent devotions of sinless souls. Eye will sparkle 
to eye, and heart will beat to heart, and hand will 
be joined in hand, amid the assemblies and com- 
munings of the just in that better land and purer 
state. 

The bearings of this subject upon the future re- 
wards, blessedness, and emplojanents of the heav- 
enly state will be more fully illustrated in the 
chapter on the nature of Future Happiness, to which 



THIED GLORIOUS RESULT. 189 

the reader is referred, and whicli should be read in 
immediate connection with the views presented on 
the resurrection. 

Of the day and hour when this glorious consum- 
mation of the Christian's hope will take place, we are 
not informed. The season is definitely fixed in the 
purpose of God. Every revolution of earth brings 
us nearer to it— every breeze wafts us onward, and 
the shadows of life's closing day, which lie lengthened 
and cold upon the ground, point eastward to the 
rising sun. Soon, if prepared, we shall be gathered, 
with the ransomed, into the paradise above, to 
await in peaceful rest and hope, and amid the com- 
munings of the holy, the dawnings of the long- 
wished for day. How delightfully attractive the 
prospect before us ! How adapted to cheer and sus- 
tain, amid the sorrows and trials of the present 
state : 

" This life's a dream, an empty show ; 

But the bright world to which I go 
• Hath joys substantial and sincere ; 

When shall I wake and find me there ? 

Oh glorious hour ! Oh bless'd abode ! 
I shall be near and like my God ! 
And flesh and sin no more control 
The sacred pleasures of the soul. 

My flesh shall slumber in the ground 
Till the last trumpet's joyful soimd 1 
Then burst the chains, with sweet surprise, 
And in my Saviour's image rise." 



140 THE RESUKEECTION. 

" For this we say unto jom by tlie word of the 
Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the 
coming of the Lord shall not prevent or go before 
them that are asleep. For the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of 
the arch-angel, and with the trump of God ; and the 
dead in Christ shall rise first : then we which are 
alive and remain shall be caught up together with 
them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air : and 
so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort 
one another with these wordsJ'' 1 Thess, 4 : 15-18. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

** The Lord, the Sovereign, sends his summons forth, 
Calls the south nations and awakes the north ; 
From east to west the sounding orders spread, 
Through distant worlds, and regions of the dead : 
IS^o more shall atheists mock his long delay ; 
His vengeance sleeps no more : behold the day 1" 

The world to come, like the present, has its ter- 
rors as well as its attractions. Were there nothing 
in the future but joyous hope, the hfe to come would 
be wholly unlike anything which we now know of 
the government of Grod. 

In our natures, formed there by the Creator, are 
two great principles, hope and fear ; to which all 
motives are addressed, and through which their 
power is exerted to form our characters and control 
our actions. It was clearly the design of our 
Maker that we should be influenced by one desire 
of happiness, enkindling ever-smiling hope, to seek 
for the highest good ; and that we should be moved 
by our fear of misery to turn from sin, and shun 
evil in all its forms. It is in vain for any to say 
that fear is a low, base, and unworthy passion, and 



142 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

that they will not be influenced by it ; for no wise 
or rational man can help ^' being moved by fear," to 
protect himself and his from danger, when he sees 
it impending. In all the concerns of life, in all the 
precautions to avoid losses and injuries, and in all 
the means employed for protection against villanies, 
and diseases, and death, we see all men who are not 
utterly reckless and presumptuous, moved continu- 
ally by fear. It is right. It should be so. We 
should pervert and deny our natures, and act irra- 
tionally, did we not fear as well as hope. 

As hope and fear then are a necessary part of our 
being in the present world, why should they not be 
in respect to the world to come ? If the future life 
is only a continuation of the present, as the Scrip- 
tures teach, must not hope and fear be brought into 
exercise when eternal things are contemplated ? Ac- 
cordingly we find in Scripture, in the revelations of 
the world to come, scenes and objects of terror, as 
well as those trancendently attractive. Those who 
would blot out all fears from the records of another 
life, would make a world unsuited to our natures, 
and contrary to the analogy of all that we see in 
the world around us. The Scriptures are more in 
harmony with our natures, and with all the Creator's 
plans, so far as they are developed to our compre- 
hension. 

Among the objects adapted to excite our fears in 
a future world, is the day of judgment, when the 
living and the dead will be called to account, and 
rewarded according to the deeds done in the body. 



A SOLEMN REALITY. 143 

Around this day, indeed, cluster the terrors of the 
Lord, by which men should be persuaded to turn 
from' sin, and pursue that course of life which will 
shield them effectually from all condemnation in the 
trying hour. 

But the day of judgment is not one of unmixed 
terror, and hence of repulsion to human minds. It 
has its attractions, great, glorious, and joyous, as 
will be shown, and will issue in results which will 
fill a holy universe with joy, and swell the Allelu- 
ias of the pure forever. 



A SOLEMN REALITY. 

The following passages prove most conclusively 
the reality of such a day as revealed in Scripture : 

Matt.10 : 15, "Verily, I say unto you, It shall be 
more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, 
in the day of judgment, than for that city." 11 : 24, 
" But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable 
for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than 

for thee." 

Acts, 17: 31, "But now Grod commandeth all 
men everywhere to repent: Because he hath ap- 
pointed a day, in the which he will judge the world 
in righteousness, by that man whom he hath or- 
dained : whereof he hath given assurance unto all 
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." 
Acts, 10 : 42, " And he commanded us to preach 
unto' the people, and to testify that it is he which 



144 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

was ordained of God to be the judge of quick and 
dead.'' 

Rom, 2 : 6, 16, ^' Who will render to every man 
according to his deeds : in the day when God shall 
judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according 
to my gospel." 14 : 10, 12, ^^Kut why dost thou 
judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at naught 
thy brother ? for we shall all stand before the judg- 
ment-seat of Christ. So then every one of us shall 
give account of himself to God." 

2 Peter ^ 2:9, '' The Lord knoweth how to deliver 
the ungodly out of temptations, and to reserve the 
•unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished." 
3:7,^' But the heavens and the earth, which are 
now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved 
unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition 
of ungodly men." 

1 John^ 4 : 17, ^^ Herein is our love made perfect, 
that we may have* boldness in the day of judgment: 
because as he is, so are we in this world." 

2 Cor. 5 : 10, *^For we must all appear before 
the judgment-seat of Christ ; that every one may 
receive the things done in his body, according to 
that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 

2 Tim, 4 : 1, ^' I charge thee, therefore, before God^ 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, who ^\m\\ judge the quich^ 
or living, and the dead at his appearing and king- 
dom." 4:8," Henceforth there is laid up for me 
a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- 
eous judge, shall give me at that day^ and not to me 
only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 



A SOLEMN REALITY. 145 

B^v, 20: 12, 13, ^^I saw the dead, small and 
great, stand before Grod; and the books were 
opened : and another book was opened which is the 
Book of Life : and the dead were judged out of 
those things which were written in the books, ac- 
cording to their works. And the sea gave up the 
dead which were in it ; and death and hell delivered 
up the dead which were in them : and they were 
judged every man according to their works." 

Matt 12 : 36, ^^ But I say unto you, that every 
idle word that men shall speak, they shall give ac- 
count thereof in the day of judgment." 

Ecc, 12 : 13, 14, '^Let us hear the conclusion of 
the w^hole matter: Fear God, and keep his com- 
mandments : for this is the whole duty of man. For 
God shall bring every work into judgment, with 
every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it 
be evil." 

Jer, 17 : 10, ^'I the Lord search the heart, I try 
the veins, even to give every man according to his 
ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." 

It is impossible for us to conceive, how God could 
reveal in human language, the reality of a future 
day or time of judgment, more definitely or clearly 
than it is in these Scriptures. 

But these passages not only prove the reality of 
a day of judgment, but they teach some great and 
prominent things respecting it, which are worthy of 
special notice, and which are necessary to perceive 
its great intent and bearing upon the government 
of God. 

7 



146 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



WHEN IT WILL TAKE PLACE. 

The time when it is to take place is stated. This is 
not at death — not at the time that each one enters the 
world of spirits ; but after the resurrection — when all 
the living and the dead shall stand before the j udg- 
ment-seat — when the sea shall give up the dead 
which are in it, and death and hades, or the invisi- 
ble world, shall give up the dead which are in them. 
It shall occur at a time when the inhabitants of an- 
cient Sodom and Gromorrah, and of Tyre and Sidon, 
and of Nineveh, shall be summoned to appear with 
the inhabitants of Capernaum, of Chorazan, and 
Bethsaida. As shown in the chapter on the inter- 
mediate state, men will not be prepared for judg- 
ment before the resurrection. 



THE LENGTH OF TIME INCLUDED. 

They teach that every individual of the human 
race who has lived prior to that time shall appear at 
the judgment. So affirms the Apostle. For we 
must all appear at the judgment-seat of Christ. So 
then every one of us shall give account of himself to 
God. 

Should the righteous appear first, and be judged, 
according to Millenarian views, and then the wicked, 
in their time and order, it would not contradict the 
general statement that all must appear on that great 



LENGTH OF TIME INCLUDED. 147 

day, and receive according to the deeds done in the 
body. Nothing which is here affirmed is impossible. 
There will be time enough, doubtless, at the judg- 
ment, to accomplish all that is predicted will be done 
on that great day. For the day of judgment, we 
apprehend, denotes not a period of twelve, or twenty- 
four hours, but a period of time long enough in 
which to accomplish all that God has said he will do. 
The Scriptures justify such a conclusion, and it is 
rendered necessary by the series and magnitude of 
events which are to pass in review on that great day 
of God Almighty. 

The children of Israel were in the wilderness forty 
years, and yet the Apostle calls this whole period a 
day. ^* The day of temptation in the wilderness." 
Heh. 3: 7-9. 

Our Lord said, ^^I must work the works of him 
that sent me, while it is day : the night cometh when 
no man can work." John^ 9 : 4. Here the period of 
human life, however long or short, is denominated a 
day. 

In the prophets the time during which God in his 
providence visits a nation for its sins, is termed a day 
- — the day of his wrath. See Isa, 63 : 4. Nahum^ 
1 : 7. Uz. 7 : 7. The passages are very numerous 
in which the word day is used to denote a term of 
trouble or blessing, without limiting the duration. 
No violence, then, is done to Scripture, when the 
day of judgment is understood to represent a period 
of time sufficiently long to accomplish all that God 
has said he will do, in calling every one to an ac- 



148 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

count, and in bringing every work into judgment 
with every secret thing, whether it be good or bad. 

There seems to be a necessity in the nature of the 
case, that the day of judgment should occupy a long 
period of time, perhaps hundreds or thousands of 
our years. For, if we must all appear before the 
judgment-seat of Christ, and each one, of all who 
have ever lived, or shall live, give an account 
of himself, with every work and secret thing, the 
time occupied must vastly exceed one brief revolu- 
tion of earth upon its axis. Let no one be startled at 
such a statement. Ood is never in a hurry. He takes 
all the time he needs to accomplish his purposes in 
the best and most impressive manner, according to 
the counsels of his own will. He has lived an eter- 
nity already, and onward there stretches a series of 
endless years to come, in which to do all that his 
soul desires. There will be time enough, then, for all 
the scenes of the judgment to pass in regular success- 
ion, order, and grandeur. Though men are now in 
such haste in the pursuits of earth, that but few 
pause to consider their latter end, Grod will give 
them time for reflection in the future, and bring up 
all things in the past in review before them. 

This extended view of the judgment now taken, 
comports more perfectly with the solemnities and 
unmeasurable interests which cluster around that 
great day, than does the idea that the eternal desti- 
nies of born and unborn millions with the account 
they are to render, are to be crowded into a few short 
hours of one short day. Doubtless Grod could, 



ITS GREAT DESIGl!T. 149 

if he chose, bring each individuars life in review- 
before him in an instant of time, and pronounce an 
infalhbly just verdict in each case, without bringing 
each one to trial ; but such a procedure could in no 
way so clearly exhibit the justice, equity, and mercy 
of his decisions to the understanding of finite intelli- 
gences, as would the development of each individual 
case, as described in Scripture. And as the judg- 
ment day is not for the benefit of God, but the in- 
struction and conviction of his creatures, may not 
the Great Judge take time enough to spread out be- 
fore a finite universe, the grounds of his judgments, 
and the mysteries of his providence, so as to produce 
an effect most impressive and instructive upon all 
who shall be spectators of the scene. 



ITS GEEAT DESIGN". 

The Scriptures above quoted, to prove the reality 
of a day of judgment, also set forth most clearly 
and definitely its great design. For we must all 
appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every 
one may receive tlie things done in his body, or while in 
his body, according to that he hath done, whether 
it be good or bad. In many passages of Scripture 
we are assured that the great law or principle, 
according to which God will deal with men in the 
future, will be, to render to every one according to 
his works. We cannot conceive of a more perfect 
principle of equity than this. To deal with men 



150 THE DAY OF JUDaMENT. 

according to any other law, would be most mani- 
festly unjust and repulsive to that moral sense im- 
planted in the bosom of every man. A human 
government is perfect and just only, in proportion as 
it is based upon this principle of the goverment of 
Grod. God is perfect. Justice and judgment are 
the habitation of his throne ; and, therefore, this 
fundamental law of equity must and will be carried 
out in the developments of his plans. Hence, a day 
or time of universal judgment is appointed, the 
grand design of which is to carry out perfectly, im- 
partially, and eternally this great law. 

It is clearly seen that, in the present world, men 
are not rewarded according to their works. Every- 
thing here seems to be in disorder. The wicked are 
prospered, and the righteous are afflicted. Over the 
impious, judgment lingers, and damnation slumbers ; 
while the virtuous are often crushed beneath the 
oppressors tread, and pine in solitude; while the 
vile of earth go unwhipt of justice. And there is 
an obvious cause for this, clearly and prominently 
brought to view in Scripture, under the present 
economy of mercy and probation. Should God so 
order events, as to render to every man according 
to his deeds, immediately on the commission of 
crime, there would be no mercy shown to the sinner, 
and no system of grace or probation introduced in 
respect to him. God could not then be long suffer- 
ing and patient with transgressors. He could not 
bear with them from generation to generation, and 
warn, and entreat, and persuade them to turn from 



ITS GREAT DESIGN. 151 

their evil ways and live, as lie now does in the 
Gospel of his Son. He bears long, that he may 
give space for repentance; and he subjects the good 
to great trials of afiaiction, that he may disciphne 
and prepare them for their future reward. 

Now, he could not thus bear with men, and pre- 
serve them through life in a state of grace, mercy, 
and trial, were he to render to them according to 
their desert as they went along. The present 
apparently disordered state of things in our world 
is necessary, under a dispensation of grace and pro- 
bation, and grows necessarily out of the economy of 
love, under which we live in connection with the 

gospel. 

It is not strange, therefore, that in consequence 
of the mercy of God now offered to men, and his 
long-suffering towards the wicked, and his course of 
discipline with the good, there should seem to be no 
equity or justice in the administrations of provi- 
dence. But the revelations of the world to come, 
and the announcement of a day of judgment, ex- 
plain the mystery. God now waits to be gracious. 
But this apparently disordered course of things will 
not always continue. Though judgment now lingers, 
a day of reckoning will come when every one will 
receive according to his deeds. Then God will 
rectify the disorders of earth, and make a visible and 
glorious manifestation of his truth, justice, and 
mercy before the universe. 



162 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



WHY NECESSAEY. 



But to some, such a procedure as has been con- 
templated, in respect to the judgment, may still seem 
wholly unnecessary. But let it be borne in mind, 
that it is not maintained, nor is it ever taught in 
Scripture, that a day of judgment is in any sense 
necessary for God, to make him acquainted with the 
characters of men, or to enable him to form a correct 
and just decision in regard to each individual of 
mankind. All things are naked and open unto the 
ej^es of him with whom we have to do. With every 
character — with every secret thing — and with the 
personal deserts of every creature, he will be as well 
acquainted before as after the judgment, and, there- 
fore, as well qualified to render an impartial verdict 
in each case. 

But not so with his creatures — the subjects of his 
universal government. Some definite and detailed 
manifestation of the grounds of his decisions will be 
necessary for them, to enable them to comprehend 
the ways of God, and cordially to approve his gov- 
ernment. The Scriptures clearly teach that the 
Creator has respect to his creatures, and consults 
their good in what he does. It cannot be disputed 
that it is both desirable and important that the great 
principles of his moral government, and the grounds 
upon which all his decisions are based, should be so 
exhibited to their understandings, as to call forth 



WHY NECESSARY. 153 

their sincere approbation and their cordial submis- 
sion to all he does. 

The righteous have often been exceedingly per- 
plexed in view of the mysteries of providence, as 
seen in the present world; and they would be 
equally so in the world to come, were there no de- 
velopments — no explanations — no revelations made 
respecting the eternal destinies of men. 

When God adjudges the righteous to crowns, and 
honors and glories in his kingdom, or sentences the 
wicked to eternal banishment from his presence and 
the glory of his power, how could all intelligent 
beings know and understand the justice of God, and 
the equity of his proceedings, were not the facts 
upon which the verdict is based, presented to the 
view of all? 

Now, we doubt not, that God intends, in great 
condescension and mercy to us, to give such an ex-' 
hibition and illustration of the truth and righteous- 
ness of all that he does, as will give us the most un- 
bounded and joyful acquiescence and confidence in 
his government and character. And how wisely 
adapted for this purpose will be a judgment day, 
when all hearts, all secrets, all deeds and all charac- 
ters shall be revealed in their relation to God, and 
the destinies assigned. 

Suppose, in the case of the wicked, at the judg- 
ment, as fact after fact comes out ; as the motives 
and principles by which they have been actuated 
are disclosed, and their characters are fully and per- 
fectly made known — it shall be shown that they are 



154 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

unfitted for the bliss of heaven — that they have no 
qualification for the society of the holy, or for that 
pure service which the sanctified will render to God 
forever — how will such an exhibition justify the 
ways of God with the unholy, in excluding them 
from his presence, and from the heaven of all who 
love him ! for, if they do not love God, and are un- 
like him and his, in character, and are hence in no 
way fitted for heaven, will not their exclusion be 
just and necessary ? 

And when it is further shown that the wicked 
have fitted themselves for their doom by wicked 
works — their obstinate persistence in sin — their re- 
fusal to repent — their rejection of the Gospel, and 
their neglect of all the means appointed of God in 
love for their salvation — how clearly will his justice 
appear to all in their condemnation! And how will 
all this tend to stop the mouth of clamor against the 
justice and goodness of God, and to reconcile every 
holy being most perfectly to the decisions of their 
Maker and Judge ! 

And how, too, will a revelation of all wickedness 
at the great day, and all the misery which it has pro- 
duced under all the varied circumstances in which 
men have been placed, tend to show the infinite evil 
of sin, and thus further to justify the severity of 
God's dealings in respect to transgressions ! 

Now, we are unable to see how all this could be 
done in any other way than by a set time — a judg- 
ment day ; when the decisions of heaven, and the 
reasons thereof, shall be fully and openly revealed. 



WHY NECESSARY. 155 

We regard, then, a day of judgment, for the pur- 
poses assigned in Scripture, as exceedingly desirable, 
important, and necessary, to unfold the mysteries of 
providence — to vindicate the character and govern- 
ment of God from all unjust imputations, and sus- 
picions of unkindness, and to confirm the confidence 
and promote the joy of the universe. We speak not 
extravagantly, when we affirm that this manifesta- 
tion and vindication of the character and government 
of God in respect to his deahngs with the righteous 
and the wicked, will promote the joy of the universe. 
For, it is repeatedly affirmed that the representatives 
of other orders of beings will be present, and that 
the attributes of Jehovah developed in the great 
schemes of his mercy and judgment on earth, are 
for the instruction of other worlds. The Apostle 
Paul teaches, JEjjJi, 3 : 10, that God does what he 
does, for the salvation of this world, not simply for 
us ; but ^Ho the intent that now unto principalities 
and powers in heavenly places," or inhabiting these 
other worlds in the heavens, "• might be known by 
the church the manifold wisdom of God, according 
to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ 
Jesus our Lord." The designs of God are vast, 
wide-circling, and eternal. They are not contracted 
to earth's narrow limits, but intended for the uni- 
versal good. We propose to recur to this subject 
again, when we come to speak of the nature and de- 
sign of future punishment, and therefore shall not 
enlarge here. But we must ever bear in mind the 



156 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

■universal comprehension of Providence, if we would 
catch even a glimpse of the glor j to be revealed. 



ITS ATTKACTIONS TO THE GOOD. 

In this connection it will be proper to remark that 
such a day or time of judgment, as is predicted in 
the word of God, presents peculiar and joyful at- 
tractions to the truly good. Though it will be at- 
tended with most solemn and infinite results, they 
may look forward to it with confidence, and with 
joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

It will he Oj day in which the mystery of God^s prov- 
idence on earth will he finished, ^' All the wonderful 
and perplexing events of providence towards this 
Avorld will, at this time, be explained to the full 
conviction of the assembled universe ; so that God 
will appear just when he judges, and clear when 
he condemns." Then we shall see why tyrants and 
cruel oppressors have been suffered, for so many 
long ages, to rule the nations with a rod of iron, and 
to lord it over the consciences, as well as the bodies 
of men. Then we shall understand why error and 
delusion were permitted so generally, and for so 
long a time, to tread heaven-born truth in the dust, 
and to lead so many millions blindfolded to ruin. 

Then it will appear why the dishonest and se- 
ducers, and vile of various name, were suffered, 
under the eye of a just and sin-hating God, to per- 
fect and carry out their plots of wickedness undis- 



ITS ATTBACTIONS TO THE GOOD. 157 

turbed, while the victims of their avarice, lust, and 
passion mourned uncomforted in secret. Then it 
will be revealed why the good were compelled to 
contend with so many difficulties, discouragements 
and temptations, in their efforts to lead a virtuous 
and holy life. 

Now, must not the prospect of having all these 
things fully and satisfactorily explained, and all the 
mysteries of earth finished, be exceedingly pleasant 
and attractive? What good man has not often 
felt and said, when dark clouds have hung around 
the ways of God, and his providences have been 
involved in inscrutable mystery, I am glad there is 
a judgment day, when the mystery shall be finish- 
ed, and the light of eternity be shed upon every 
dark scene of earth. Who has not sometimes said 
to himself, when tyrants have raged, and oppressors 
have triumphed ; when he has seen iniquity abound- 
ing unrestrained and unrebuked, and when some 
deep schemes of wickedness have been developed, 
or so guarded as to be beyond the power of human 
justice, I rejoice that there is a judgment day com- 
ing, when all secret things shall be brought to light, 
and even-handed justice done to all. As the good 
on earth always rejoice when justice is administer- 
ed, and righteousness is ascendant, so will they re- 
joice in the decisions of the great day. And so 
when our characters have been assailed, and our 
motives impugned, and we have been unjustly 
treated, have we turned our eye to the future, and 
welcomed a coming judgment. 



158 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

The day of judgment luill he peculiarly attractive to 
the good^ because the government of Ood will then he 
fully vindicated^ and his character glorified hefore the 
universe. 

Many have been the complaints which have been 
made against the government of Grod by his crea- 
tures, and millions have refused to bow in quiet and 
joyful submission to his will. 

The apparent irregularities and inequalities of the 
present world have led many to deny the existence 
of a Supreme Euler, or to question his justice and 
goodness and wisdom, if he did exist. Against no 
government or being have more or greater objec- 
tions ever been made than against Grod, and espe- 
cially as revealed in the gospel of his Son. The 
voice of blasphemy and unbelief and contempt has 
ascended from generation to generation ; and pent 
up in human hearts have been vast and gloomy 
mutterings against the Most High. In secret, too, 
the good have often sighed, and their feet have well 
nigh slipped, when they have beheld the prosperity 
of the wicked, and have seen justice linger or 
languish on earth. In the midst of all these things, 
believers have often cast their eyes heavenward, 
and rejoiced in that predicted glorious event, when 
God will judge the world in righteousness, remedy 
all disorders, and give to all according to their 
deeds. 

It must be delightful to the good to know that 
there is a day coming when all disorders will be 
adjusted — when all inequalities in the administra- 



ITS ATTRACTIONS TO THE GOOD. 159 

tion of justice shall be corrected— when all will re- 
ceive according to their works, and when the charac- 
ter of that great and -holy One, whom they love, 
shall be vindicated, and rendered infinitely glorious. 
On this great day God will glorify Ms luisdom. 
When the great scheme of his government is re- 
vealed, and the great design he proposed to accom- 
plish on earth is made known, and when it is seen 
how admirably adapted were all the arrangements 
of providence, and the dispensations of his mercy 
among men to fulfil his great purposes in the 
highest welfare of his universe, his wisdom will 
conspicuously appear; and to the only wise^ God, 
and our Saviour, will all ascriptions of praise be 

given. 

On this great day, he will glorify his unspeakable 
love. When all secret things are revealed, and truth 
beams forth as an unclouded sun, it will be seen that 
all the apparent irregularities of earth, the aflaictions 
of the righteous, and the long suffering manifested 
toward the wicked amid their prosperity and sin, 
were only the necessary outgoings of unbounded be- 
nevolence. He caused justice to linger, and judg- 
ment to slumber, that he might have mercy. He 
was not slack concerning his promises, but was long- 
suffering to men, not willing that any should perish, 
but that all should come to repentance. He sought 
by goodness and severity mingled, by adversity and 
prosperity, and by hopes and fears alternately blend- 
ed, to lead men from sin, and to turn them to him- 
self. And the good, too, he chastised, not in wrath. 



160 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

but in paternal kindness, that he might make them 
partakers of his holiness. Oh how clearly it will 
appear at the revelations of the great day, that God 
is love, and that however much overlooked, and 
slighted, and abused, this has been the presiding 
principle, wide working through the universal frame, 
and seeking the highest good of all in subordination 
to the laws of purity, of obedience and universal 
well being. 

On this great day God will glorify his justice. 
"When the great trial of human life is summed up, 
and each one receives according to the deeds done 
while in the body, impartial justice, the attendant of 
love, will be magnified. When all the methods 
which God has taken to save the wicked from sin, 
are made known, and all the facts in their history 
come out, and their internal love of sin and rejection 
of the gospel, it will be shown, beyond denial to all, 
that sinners have destroyed themselves, and have fit- 
ted themselves for misery by their own wicked 
works, and characters self- formed to evil. It will 
then be understood by all that the ground of their 
exclusion from heaven, and the reason why they are 
sent away to the world of hell, by themselves, is not 
that God is unkind or unjust, but because they have 
no likeness to heaven, and are unfitted for it. Love 
to the good, and justice to the guilty, will require 
their everlasting punishment from his presence. And 
so thoroughly will be the conviction of the justice 
of God in all that is done, that we are assured every 
mouth will be stopped, and all the world become 



TIME OF REWARD TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 161 

guilty before God. And the hosts of heaven will 
sing, ^^ Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord 
God Almighty ; just and true are thy ways, thou 
King of saints. Who will not fear thee, O Lord, 
and glorify thy name ? for thou only art holy." 

It is clear, from the revelations of Scripture re- 
specting the day of judgment, that the character and 
government of God, in every aspect, will then be 
vindicated, and placed in a true attitude before an 
assembled universe. To the good, therefore, the 
prospect of such a day must be exceedingly attract- 
ive and joyous. In proportion as they sincerely love 
God, and desire the welfare of his government, 
ought they to rejoice in the bright and eternally glo- 
rious prospects which cluster around the great day. 



THE TIME OF REWARD TO THE RIGHTEOUS. 

But to the redeemed the day of judgment will be 
pre-eminently attractive — because it will be the set 
time appointed for them to receive their crowns of 
glory, and the peculiar rewards promised them, for 
which they have been long waiting. It will be to the 
righteous a day of unspeakable joy and triumph. It 
will be the commencement of a new dispensation, and 
a higher development of glory than before enjoyed. 
When the Judge shall publicly recognize them as his 
friends, and say, *' Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foun- 
dation of the world," or *^ Well done, good and faith- 



162 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

ful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord," 
how will it swell their bosoms with joy unutterable, 
and full of glory. And yet all this will be at the 
day of judgment. The Saviour said, ^'Eejoice, and 
be exceeding glad; for, great is your reward in 
heaven," and yet this reward will be given at that 
day. Can it be otherwise, then, than attractive? 
As our hearts are drawn upv/ard and onward to the 
world to come, how clearly does every guide-board 
along heaven's highway, point us to the judgment- 
seat, as the place whither we are to go to look for our 
exceeding great reward. 

*' How long, dear Saviour, how long 
Shall that bright hour delay? 
Fly swiftly round, ye wheels of time, 
And bring the wished for day." 



TO WHOM IT WILL NOT BE ATTRACTIVE. 

The only persons for whom the day of judgment 
will have no attractions, will be the enemies of Grod 
— those who have not loved him, nor obeyed his 
gospel. To such it must necessarily be a day of 
fearful terrors. Of this they are faithfully warned in 
Scripture, that they may be persuaded to repent, and 
seek a character which shall prepare them for hap- 
piness. It will be the day when they must meet him 
whom they have rejected or neglected, and answer 
for all the deeds done in the body. It will be the 
time when all their secret deeds, and secret thoughts 



TO WHOM IT WILL NOT BE ATTKACTIVE. 163 

and motives, of which they are now ashamed, shall 
be disclosed, and when they shall receive their last 
irrevocable sentence, "Depart from me ye cursed." 
It will be the time when despair, and remorse, and 
sin, will assert their dark and dismal supremacy 
over depraved and ruined minds. 

It is often said that the destinies of men are de- 
pendent on the decisions of the great day. But this 
is not strictly true. The destinies of men in the fu- 
ture world, depend upon their characters formed here 
for good or evil. It will be a solemn and fearful 
thing for the unreconciled to meet Grod in judgment ; 
but if men would look at the subject aright, it is an 
equally solemn and fearful thing to live in a world 
like the present, upon which depend issues so mo- 
mentous and eternal. There is vastly more at issue, 
in the characters we form in life, and the course of 
obedience or disobedience to God which we now 
pursue, than there will be at the judgment-day. The 
judgment of the great day, will only be a review of 
the past— a summoning up of the results of life^ and 
a verdict of acquittal or condemnation based upon 
an obedience or disobedience to the laAvs and gospel 
of God. While, therefore, it will be fearful and 
solemn to meet the grand results of our doings on 
earth, it is, if anything, a more serious matter to be 
treasuring up those results, and every day we live, 
performing deeds, and forming characters, which are 
to decide and fix our destinies for life or death. 

While we look forward, therefore, to the final de- 
cision in our case, and to the fearful or joyful con- 



164 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

sequences wMcli may folloWj we should remember, 
that whatever of attraction or terror there may be 
to us J in the day of judgment, 

*' Time is the season fair of living well, 
The path of glory or the path of hell." 

Everything depends on the character now formed, 
and on the affections now cherished and cultivated. 
There will be no terrors in the judgment except 
those which arise from conscious sin and depravity. 
There will be a full and perfect conviction of sin at 
the judgment day, which will produce alarm and 
terror. To produce these convictions will be one 
great design. Thus it is written, '^ And Enoch also, 
the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying. 
Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his 
saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince 
all that are ungodly among them of all their ungod- 
ly deeds which they have u.ngodly committed, and 
of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners 
have spoken against him." — Jude^ 14. Upon these 
convictions will be based the sentence of the Judge ; 
but it will all depend on what we are, and what we 
are doing now. 

It will be terrible to hear those fearful words, 
" Depart from me ye workers of iniquity ;'' but they 
will be a necessary consequence of sin cherished and 
committed in life. To the guilty and unsanctified, 
then only will the judgment day be terrible. And 
all this may be avoided. ^^ Beloved, if our heart con- 
demn us not^ then have we confidence toward God." 



THE PLACE OF JUDGMENT. 165 

« Herein is our love made perfect, ttat we may have 
boldness in the day of judgment ; because as he is, 
so are we in this world. There is no fear in love ; 
but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath 
torment."—! John, 4 : 17, 18. If, then, we would es- 
cape from all fearful apprehensions, and be able to 
rejoice with the good, there is but one course to be 
pursued,— fear or love God and keep his command- 
ments ; for this is the whole duty of man. 

THE PLACE OF JUDGMENT. 

It is a matter of no practical importance to us, to 
know where the scenes of the judgment will be laid, 
whether on earth, in the air, or in some distant 
world. But yet it is an inquiry which interests some. 
From the representations of Scripture, there is reason 
to infer that the place of judgment will be the earth, 
and the region of the air around it. At this great 
day, the Judge will descend to earth. " When Jesus 
ascended on high, the angels said. Ye men of Gali- 
lee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven ; for that 
same Jesus whom ye have seen go up into heaven, 
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him 
go. And in accordance with this, it is written. Be- 
hold, he cometh with clouds ; and every eye shall 
see him, and they also which pierced him : and all 
the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of 
him." " -For the Lord shall descend from heaven 
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and 



166 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

the trump of God — and tlie dead in Christ shall arise 
first : then we which are alive and remain, shall be 
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet 
the Lord in the air" — that is, the righteous will be 
caught up — the wicked will remain upon the earth. 
These and similar Scriptures imply that the earth 
itself, and the surrounding air, will constitute the 
place of Divine manifestation and judgment. It will, 
no doubt, be a scene transcendently grand and im- 
posing, and well adapted to impress a universe with 
the majesty and august nature of the scene. The 
Lord himself will be revealed in flaming fire. Per- 
haps by this is meant, that he will come down amid 
some such lightnings and thundering, the insignia 
of Divine majesty and power, as were displayed on 
Sinai of old. The judgment will be accompanied or 
followed by the conflagration of the earth, by which 
is denoted, not annihilation, but such a geological 
transformation, as will convert our world and its 
atmosphere, into a new heaven and earth, in which 
righteous people only shall ever after dwell. — 
2 Pet 3 : 13. 

It is predicted by the Apostle Peter that increasing 
numbers, as the day draws on, will disbelieve, con- 
temn, and openly deride all these things. Knowing 
this first, he says, " That there shall come in the last 
days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and 
saying, ' Where is the promise of his coming ? for 
since the father's fell asleep, all things continue as 
they were from the beginning of creation.' " 

They draw an argument from the stability and 



THE PLACE OF JUDGMENT. 167 

uniformity of the laws of nature, against any such, 
destruction and change in respect to the order and 
history of our earth as is predicted, in connection 
with the second glorious appearing of Jesus Christ. 
But the apostle denies their premises, and affirms 
that there is no such stability indicated, as to show 
:hat our world will roll on, just as it is iiow, forever. 
There have been already vast destructions, which 
have swept over the earth, producing radical changes 
in its formations and productions. This is revealed 
not only in Scripture, but confirmed by geological 
research. 

The apostle says, *^ For this they willingly are 
ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens 
were of old, and the earth standing out of the water 
and in the water : whereby the world that then was, 
being overflowed with water, perished: but the 
heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same 
word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the 
day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that 
one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a 
thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack 
concerning his promises, as some men count slack- 
ness ; but is long-suffering to us- ward, not willing 
that any should perish, but that all should come to 
repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a 
thief in. the night ; in the which the heavens (or the 
atmosphere shall rush) shall pass with a great noise, 
and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the 
earth, also, and the works that are therein shall be 



168 THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 

burned. Seeing, then, that all these things shall be 
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be 
in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for 
and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, 
wherein the heavens (or the atmosphere being filled, 
perhaps, with electrical agents) being on fire, shall 
be dissolved, and the elements shall melt v/ith fer- 
vent heat. Nevertheless we, according to his prom- 
ise, (See Is. 65 : 19-25,) look for new heavens and a 
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Where- 
fore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, 
be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, 
without spot, and blameless." 



CHAPTER VL 

THE NATURE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

" O ye blest scenes of permanent delight ! 
Full above measure ! lasting beyond bound 1 
A perpetuity of bliss is bliss, 
Could you so rich in rapture fear an end, 
That ghastly thought would drink up all your joj^ 
And quite unparadise the realms of light. 
Safe are you lodged above these rolhng spheres ; 
The baleful influence of whose giddy dance 
Sheds sad vicissitude on all beneath." — Young. 

If presumption may not innocently seek to pene- 
trate beyond the bounds which God has set to light 
— if curiosity may not, unbidden, try to look into 
the secrets of eternal love, and if imagination may 
not substitute her own creations for those substantial 
glories and sources of unfading happiness, eternal 
in the heavens, it is surely right — yea, it is our duty 
to give the most earnest heed to all that is revealed. 
We may not only look at the more full disclosures 
of that ^^far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory" in reserve, but we may gaze in wonder and 
delight at every ray of light which beams upon us 
through the opening heavens of truth. We may 
pause and ponder upon every intimation of things 

8 



170 THE I^ATUKE OF FUTUEE HAPPINEbo. 

unseen ; and as God has given us minds capable of 
reasoning upon his works and word, and thence 
drawing conclusions in harmony with truth, we may 
innocently reason from that which is revealed and 
seen, to that which is unseen and unwritten, while 
we are careful that all our deductions are in har- 
mony with the word of God. 

If, like the skilful botanist, we diligently gather 
up the flowers of truth, as they bloom and wave 
over the sunny field of revelation, and combine 
them into system, we shall find that a scheme of 
eternal blessedness is made known to man capable 
of enrapturing the holy soul, and drawing the pious 
heavenward with a power which no earthly attrac- 
tions can weaken or effectually retard. 



A PURE MIND ESSENTIAL. 

In forming a correct estimate of the nature of 
future happiness as revealed, it is essential that we 
first attentively consider the moral character which 
is fundamental to heavenly enjoyment ; for, al- 
though, as will be shown, heaven is ap?ac6, as well 
as a state of blessedness — a place beautiful and 
grand beyond conception ; and although there will 
undoubtedly be vast sources of enjoyment, external 
to ourselves, spread over innumerable worlds, and 
over eternal ages ; yet there must be in us, first, a 
mind receptive of such pleasures as God will provide 
— a character corresponding to the works, perfec- 



A PURE MIND ESSENTIAL. 171 

tions, and goyernment of tiie Eternal, or we might 
be most miserable amid the brightest displays of in- 
finite love. 

We know even now that no place however beau- 
tiful, or external circumstances however favorable, 
can make us happy if our minds or moral feelings 
are not attuned to, and in harmony with the enjoy- 
ment they are adapted to bestow. The rich man 
rolling in affluence, and ^'clothed in purple and fine 
linen," and surrounded by all that can regale the 
senses, or minister to his gratification, may be more 
miserable at heart, than the poor beggar who so- 
licits the crumbs which fall from his table. Mor- 
decai, who sat next the proud monarch of Assyria, 
and enjoyed the honors and emoluments of a great 
and splendid kingdom, was wretched amid all his 
pomp and glory — a victim of envy and haughty 
pride. 

According to a law of our nature, everything 
takes the hue of our minds. If we are sad and 
gloomy, no external beauties — no pleasing land- 
scapes or blooming flowers, can seem cheerful or at- 
tractive. If we are proud and jealous, and en- 
viously aspiring, possess what we may, nothing will 
give us pleasure which does not bow and bend to 
our wills and caprices. To the man whose soul 
loatheth food, the most tempting dish would present 
no prospect of gratification ; and to him who has no 
ear or taste for music, the most enchanting and har- 
monious strains would be a weariness. 

Men often associate happiness with place and cir- 



172 THE NATUEE OF FUTUEE HAPPINESS. 

cumstances ; but all experience, in harmony with 
Scripture, testifies that a guilty mind cannot be really 
or permanently happy anywhere ; and especially 
could it not be happy amid the society and the 
scenes of purity. Even in some holy and happy 
heaven, resplendent with Jehovah's presence and 
glory, a mind not reconciled to God in all things, 
and not at peace with all around, would be miser- 
able, and everything there, as here, would take the 
hue of his own guilty and unsanctified nature. 

Such are clearly the teachings of Scripture ; and 
hence in the very front-ground of all their delinea- 
tions of future blessedness, is placed a pure heart 
and a holy character. There must be an entire and 
joyful reconciliation to God in all things, submis- 
sion to his laws, and an affectionate relationship to 
all his creatures, or no place — no external glory, or 
visions of the blessedness of God, would make us 
joyous. 

Let us, then, carefully look over the essential ele- 
ments of that character, which God in his word re- 
quires to fit us for the exceeding great and blissful 
rewards to be bestowed. 



LOVE AN ELEMENT. 

Among all the qualifications necessary to prepare 
us for happiness in any world, or sphere of being, 
love is pre-eminent. It is the great and fundamental 
principle of the law of Qrod, in this or any other 



LOVE AN ELEMENT. 173 

world. It is the fulfilling of the law, and compre- 
hends in substance all that is enjoined in Scripture. 
To God, it must be supreme ; to all creatures, sub- 
ordinate and perfect. Now, it is easy to see how 
this love, going forth supremely and continually in 
active exercise towards God, and comprehending in 
its wide and warm embrace, all intelligent beings, 
with an affection as sincere and ardent as that which 
seeks its own good, will lay the foundation of true 
and substantial bliss, and make each one the pro- 
moter as well as the recipient of happiness. 

Though it may not now be known what kind 
offices there may be for any one to perform in the 
world to come — what good there may be to be done 
among the ransomed above, yet we know that this 
perfect love to God and man will unite all hearts as 
one, and gather them harmoniously around the 
throne of Jehovah, to pay their homage and devo- 
tion, and will prepare them to rejoice in others good, 
and to perform any service God may require or cir- 
cumstances demand. 

Love, then, must be an essential element in any 
character destined for a holy and happy heaven. 
The command which enjoins it, came from the over- 
flowings of the benevolence of the infinite Mind. 
God has not more regard for his own honor and 
happiness, in demanding as his right this supreme 
affection, than he has for the highest welfare of 
man. It is impossible to conceive how even almighty 
power could prepare men for a world of perfect bless- 
edness, in any other way than through the medium 



174 THE KATUEE OE FUTUEE HAPPINESS. 

of universal love ; for where love is wanting, there 
must be alienation, variance, hatred, and every evil 
work. Hence, God, in great kindness and earnest- 
ness, is now seeking in the Gospel of his Son — in 
the renewings of his Spirit, and by the power of his 
truth, and all the influences and agencies by which 
we are surrounded, to beget within us and train us 
to undying love. 

But love stands not alone. It is not a mere pass- 
ive virtue, inactive and unproductive. It bears fruit 
unto eternal life, and gathers around it an assem- 
blage of virtues, dependent on it, beautiful and 
symmetrical. It is to the moral, what the heart is 
to the physical system — its very life. Its pulsations 
are felt through all the body. It gives vigor and 
character to every other virtue of which it is pos- 
sible to conceive, and is hence greater than all ; but 
it exists not alone, for in the character to which 
heaven is promised — 



EIGHTEOUSKESS IS AN ELEMENT. 

'' Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." 
This is composed of justice and truth, combined 
with love, and flowing from it, as naturally and 
necessarily as a stream from an overflowing foun- 
tain. No man can love God supremely, and not 
render to him the homage and obedience due to his 
name ; and no one can love his neighbor as himself, 
and not act truthfully and righteously in all things 



RIGHTEOUSNESS IS AN ELEMENT. 175 

respecting him. There would manifestly be no 
peace and happiness without this rectitude of char- 
acter flowing from and assimilated to love. What 
better, morally, could heaven be than earth, were 
injustice and deceit to enter? Were such admitted 
to the inner gates of Paradise, how would the selfish 
passions still prevail — pride, envy, intrigue, and 
hate ? and how, like laws of repulsion, would they 
drive asunder, and scatter to destruction all the 
elements of good ! God has, therefore, purposed 
and revealed that this shall never be. In the fifteenth 
Psalm, this question is definitely asked and answered 
— ^^ Lord^ who shall abide in thy tahernacle? WIio 
shall dwell in thy holy hillP Answer — ''He that 
walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and 
speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth 
not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, 
nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In 
whose eyes a vile person is contemned ; but he 
knoweth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth 
to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth 
not out his money to usury, nor taketh a reward 
against the innocent. He that doeth these things 
shall never be moved.'' 

It is seen here that perfect rectitude and truthful- 
ness of character are required to give admission to 
the dwelling-place of Jehovah, and to prepare those 
who enter for its enjoyment. What then will the 
dishonest, the liar, and the impious do ? Into what 
place, or sphere, will they enter? The harmonies 
of heaven, and the peaceful purity of its inmates, 



176 THE NATUKE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

would be interrupted and despoiled, were they ad- 
mitted. Do such turn to the gospel, and rejoice in 
the free and unmerited salvation which its abound- 
ing mercy and grace reveal? But the gospel does 
not contradict the law, or lower the standard of Scrip- 
tural perfection. It says — 

*' For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath 
appeared to all men, teaching us that denying un- 
godliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, 
righteously, and godly in this present world ; look- 
ing for that blessed hope, even the glorious appear- 
ing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; 
who gave himself for us that he might redeem us 
from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar 
people zealous of good works." Titus^ 2 : 11. 

Wherever we look, then, to the Old or New Tes- 
tament, to the law or to the gospel, we find the same 
general rectitude of character described as essential 
to give admission to the kingdom of God. How, 
then, can the unrighteous hope for the bliss of heav- 
en, who have no hungerings and thirstings after ho- 
liness? ''Know ye not that such cannot inherit the 
kingdom of God?" 1 Cor. 6: 9. 

But this is not all. Set around that perfect recti- 
tude of character to which love gives birth, is a con- 
stellation of graces, presented in Scripture, which 
give dignity to perfection, and shed a halo of unfad- 
ing beauty and glory around the pathway of the 
just. 



HUMILITY AN ELEMENT. 177 



HUMILITY AN ELEMENT. 

Next to love, among the most prominent and 
beautiful of the Christian graces is humility. This 
is a virtue peculiarly dear to God. ^' For, thus saith 
the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, 
whose name is holy : I dwell in the high and holy 
place, with him also that is of a contrite and humhle 
spirit, to revive the spirit of the humhle, and to re- 
vive the heart of the contrite ones." Is, 57 : 15. 
*^But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, 
God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the 
humble.^' James^ 4: 6. 

Humility is the opposite of pride, and arrogance, 
and self-exaltation. It is that which leads us to take 
low views of ourselves, to esteem others, in respect 
to preferment and ofl&ce, better or before ourselves, 
which renders us happily submissive to the Divine 
will, and content with God's allotments, whatever 
they may be. 

Where it exists in perfection, there can be no 
envy or jealou.sy, when others are exalted above us, 
or in preference to us, or suspicion that we are es- 
teemed less than we deserve. There can be no 
boasting, or selfish ambition, or haughtiness, when 
we are more favored than some, or any other feeling 
which brings us in heart or interest in collision with 
another. 

And how essential will all this be to perfect order 
and happiness in a world of joy. With this grace in 



178 THE NATUEE OF FUTUEE HAPPINESS. 

full and joyous exercise, each individual will cheer- 
fully take the place for which the faculties and pow- 
ers given him, fit him, and which heaven appoints, 
and will lead him to rejoice in others' good in pref- 
erence to his own, and they in his, in return. 

If humble in heaven, we shall not envy GabrieFs 
exaltation ; nor will he look down from the dazzling 
heights he occupies on the meanest creature with 
haughtiness or contempt. If Paul has a brighter 
crown of glory than some, and shall shine as a star 
more brilliant than others, we shall not love him the 
less, but shall think any place beneath the smiles of 
the Holy One good enough for those so unworthy. 

And thus what love, what order, what harmony, 
what rejoicings, mutual and eternal, will be produc- 
ed ? what a world will that be, where perfect 
humility, springing from perfect love, shall shed its 
mild and peaceful, and subduing, and attractive in- 
fluence over all ? Can there be a heaven without 
humility? Can we be truly happy now, or any- 
where without it? ^^He that humbleth himself 
shall be exalted, yea, exalted to heaven ; but he that 
exalteth himself shall be abased. 



FAITH AN ELEMENT. 

It is a common sentiment that in the world to 
come, '^ faith will be swallowed up in vision," and 
hence will be no more called into exercise. Is it so 
taught in Scripture ? It is true that the salvation 



FAITH AN ELEMENT. 179 

of our souls, and those things distinctly revealed as 
objects of faith, will become matters of sense and 
vision when we are welcomed to heaven by the ap- 
proving verdict of the Judge of all ; but is it ever 
revealed that faith will cease ? 

The apostle says, ^'Now abideth faith, hope, 
charity — these three; but the greatest of these 
is charity." Love is the greatest, because it gives 
existence to faith and hope ; but faith, as well as it, 
abidetlL This passage gives clear intimation and 
assurance that it will exist and flourish in an im- 
mortal life. 

It is quite certain that faith will be an essential 
element in that character which will render heaven 
blessed, and that the situation of the saints will call 
it into highest exercise. The redeemed, we may 
w^ell suppose, will be filled with joy unspeakable, 
as they stand amid the fruition of the future world, 
and contemplate in endless perspective the opening 
vista of the far-reaching future ; and the idea that 
these joys will never terminate, but continue to 
increase as their powers expand, and their ever-en- 
larging capacities call for new supplies, must give a 
permanence and perfection to their happiness ex- 
ceedingly enrapturing. 

But suppose that amid these scenes their faith in 
the promises and faithfulness of God should fail, 
and the gloomy thought take possession of their 
minds, that these bright prospects might soon fade 
through their own fall, or the instability of the 
promises and government of God, what indescriba- 



180 THE KATURE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

ble sorrow would a want of faith, under such cir- 
cumstances, produce? 

And now, how can the saints in heaven know 
that such will not be the sad ending of all their 
joys ? How can they be assured that Grod will 
never change ? or, if he should not, that they will 
never sin, and ruin themselves ? They know that 
sin once entered heaven, and cast from their exalted 
seats the angels who kept not their first estate. 
Amid the uncorrupted bowers of Eden, too, sin 
entered, and seduced our first parents from holiness 
and happiness. With such melancholy examples 
before them, how can the holy know that a similar 
fate will not befall them ? that, left to their own 
unaided powers, they may not, in some hour of 
fierce temptation, fall into condemnation, and be 
made as miserable as the lost? It was just as im- 
probable and impossible in itself considered, if- not 
more so, that the angels should fall from heaven, 
and that Adam should sin, before their melancholy 
defection, as it is that the saints shall forever main- 
tain allegiance and purity in heaven. And as God 
left them to fall, how do they know but that he 
will leave them to a similar fate ? Can anything 
but faith in God, and in his word, give them any 
certain confidence that they will not? 

It is certain, in regard to the saved, that they . 
will never sin or perish. But why not? Because 
God has promised them eternal life. He has said 
they shall never perish. Their safety, therefore, 
must depend entirely upon the truth and faithful- 



FAITH AN ELEMENT. 181 

ness of Grod ; and they can only be assured of the 
perpetuity of holiness and happiness, by their faith 
in the immutability of God and his truth. Here, 
then, their faith, made perfect, must rest with a con- 
fidence so strong as to exclude continually every 
suspicion and doubt. 

There will be a necessity for faith then in the 
world to come, and this with love must abide. And 
the faith there exercised will be of precisely the same 
kind as that which we now possess, except that it 
will then be perfect, and all-controlling. Faith then, 
as now, will be the substance of things hoped for, the 
evidence of things not seen ; for even in heaven there 
will be stretching out before the redeemed an eternity 
filled with innumerable objects of beauty and gran- 
deur, unseen and hoped for, to which faith will look, 
and of which it will be the evidence and substance. 

The plans of God Avill be continually going on 
through eternal ages, and his purposes will be per- 
petually developed. How can we be peaceful and 
happy amid these scenes, in which we must fulfil 
our part, without a simple and perfect faith in God ? 
We shall certainly need it, while we are dependent 
on the Infinite, and unable to grasp the whole 
which the mind of God conceives. 

This view of the subject is rendered certain, we 
judge, from the great prominence given to faith in 
Scripture as preparatory to heaven, and from the 
means which God now employs to strengthen in his 
people this essential grace. The Apostle Peter, in 
speaking of the great affliction which Christians 



182 THE NATURE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

were called to suffer, says, ^' Wherein ye greatly 
rejoice, though now for a season (if need be) ye are 
in heaviness through manifold temptations : that 
the trial of your faith, being much more precious 
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with 
fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and 
glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 

Here we are informed that one prominent design, 
in the accumulated trials of life, is to strengthen and 
purify our faith, that it may be found perfect at the 
appearing of our Lord. But why this, if faith is to 
terminate as we enter the world to come ? Why 
should life be spent in cultivating that which is to 
have no exercise in the better land ? It seems clear 
from the fact that so many means are employed to 
beget, and strengthen faith in the present world, 
^ and that even in the last agonies of death the Ee- 
deemer takes so much pains to perfect it, that it will 
be essential to our future happiness, and will have a 
high of&ce to fulfil in administering to the perma- 
nence and perfection of the glory to be revealed. 

That faith then will abide in the future world, and 
constitute an essential element in that perfected 
character, which will constitute the basis of all hap- 
piness, seems eminently Scriptural, and in full har- 
mony with nature and reason. It tends to give us 
a more definite and rational view of the world to 
come, and places before us the most weighty consid- 
erations, cheerfully to acquiesce in all those allot- 
ments of providence, which are designed to increase 
and mature faith. 



HOPE AN ELEMENT. 183 



HOPE AN ELEMENT. 

If faith ^'' ahideth^'''' hope must also. Scripture and 
reason unite in showing that it will constitute an es- 
sential element in our future characters and happi- 
ness. ^' It cannot consistently be supposed that the 
full measure of good in reserve will be bestowed at 
once, at our first introduction to heaven ; but rather 
that there will* be successive developments of truth, 
and things unseen through unending ages, calling 
forth new joys, and new songs of thanksgiving, of 
admiration, and praise, from fresh discoveries and 
displays of the perfections of God, in his w^orks and 
ways. Every finite being is capable of accession ; 
and in knowing, and doing, and attaining and en- 
joying, there will be an infinite progression before 
us." — Jay. 

If these things are so, then there must be hope in 
heaven. There will be a continued and joyous ex- 
pectation of things to come — hope pluming her 
bright wings for an upward and an immortal flight, 
and giving rise to the pleasures of rapturous antici- 
pation. Accordingly, we are assured that Christ 
hath begotten us again unto a lively lioj^e — a hope 
which will never die. The saints who are now in 
heaven, are resting in hope of the redemption of 
their bodies ; and when the dawn of the resurrec- 
tion morn sheds its blushes round the spheres, hope 
will still look onward to the bright career of eternal 
ages. In this view of the subject, how pleasing the 



184 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

reflection, that ^^ tribulation, even now, worketh pa- 
tience ; and patience experience, and experience 
ho^er But this is not all. 



PATIENCE MUST BE AN ELEMENT. 

This must ever accompany hope. ^^ But if we 
hope for that we see not, then do we with patience 
wait for it." 

Patience as commonly understood, denotes that 
calm temper of mind which bears evils without 
murmuring or discontent. Now, as there are to be 
no evils in heaven, no sighing or suffering, it is 
manifest that patience in the sense of the endurance 
of afflictions will not exist. But this is not the only, 
or chief sense in which the word is used in Scripture. 

*' Be patient, therefore, brethren" says the apostle 
James, ''unto the coming of the Lord. Behold the 
husbandman waiteth for the precious fruits of the 
earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive 
the early and the latter rain. Be 3^0 also patient ; 
establish your hearts ; for the coming of the Lord 
draweth nigh." 

In the case of the husbandman there is no pain, 
or sorrow, or affliction implied in that quiet and 
contented composure with which he waits for the 
joyful harvest. Having used the appropriate means, 
and committed the precious seed to the ground, and 
intrusted the result in the hand of a kind provi- 
dence, he quietly and contentedly waits until the 



PATIENCE MUST BE AN ELEMENT. 185 

revolving seasons cause it to bring forth. This 
quiet, submissive, and joyful waiting for any good 
which we expect in the future, is patience in the 
Scriptural sense. And must it not exist hereafter ? 
It has already been shown that hope must and will 
exist there. 

And those expectations to which the opening 
and brightening prospects of far distant ages will 
give rise, may be long delayed. It may require 
myriads of years — cycles of ages which we cannot 
now compute, to unfold and fully develop to 
created minds, those schemes of grace and glory 
which a God of infinite wisdom, power, and love, 
may devise for the enjoyment of his holy and 
obedient subjects. And there will be need of pa- 
tience to render us content and happy under the 
long delays of God's infinite plans, which will be 
seen by all to be ordered in Avisdom and goodness. 
No doubt the spirits of just men made perfect, now 
in heaven, and who are waiting in expectancy the 
resurrection, and the judgment, and those higher 
rewards which will then be dispensed, have need of 
patience, and find it essential to their present con- 
tentment and bliss. If there is not patience in 
heaven, there must be impatience. And could it be 
a happy world were it so ? 

If patience is not to exist and be exercised in the 
world to come, why does the apostle James so ear- 
nestly exhort its cultivation ? ^' My brethren, count 
it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations ; know- 
ing this, that the trial of your faith worketh patience. 



186 THE NATURE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may- 
be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." But why 
should Grod carry men through divers and fiery 
trials for the purpose of working patience in them, 
if it is to have no place or exercise in a better 
life? 

NoW; this fact carries irresistable conviction to 
my own mind, that we shall need patience in perfec- 
tion to prepare us for heaven. 

God himself is a God of patience ; Jesus is pa- 
tient, meek and lowly in mind as he ever was, and 
so it will be necessary for us to be, to be like him, 
and enjoy his society and love. And then the 
high ofi&ces we are to fill as kings and priests unto 
God, may require the exercise of patience in a differ- 
ent sense still from that contemplated. We proceed 
to consider as elements of our future characters — 



SUBMISSION AND RESIGNATION. 

As they are now essential to Christian character, 
so they will be necessary to the harmony and bless- 
edness of the kingdom of God. As they now 
greatly minister to the peace and contentment of 
life, so they will be no less fruitful in righteousness, 
peace, and joy in God amid the wondrous scenes of 
eternity. Heaven would be as disobedient as earth, 
and as fruitful of misery as hell, were not all there 
entirely submissive and resigned to the will of the Su- 
preme, And it is therefore to prepare men for heaven, 



SUBMISSION AND RESIGNATION. 187 

that God in love and condescension now seeks to 
bring all into a willing and joyful submission to bim, 
and in all life's aflaictions to train us for tbe skies. ^ 
Were it necessary, and did our limits permit, it 
might be shown that any virtue or grace enjoined 
in Scripture, is demanded not only for its influence 
in life, but especially for its influence on the life to 

come. 

"And besides this," says Peter, "giving all di- 
ligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, 
knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ; and to 
temperance, patience ; and to patience, godliness ; 
and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and to broth- 
erly kindness, charity. For if these things be in 
you and abound, they make you that ye shall 
neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. For so an entrance shall 
be ministered unto you abundantly into the 'ever- 
lasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 

Christ!" 

But why should we be so diligent in cultivatmg 
these graces, if they are not to have place and power 
in the everlasting kingdom of Christ ? 

It is a great, and practical, and mischievous error, 
that some have taught, that the essential graces of 
the Christian, required in Scripture, will not be 
called into exercise in the world to come. Is not 
the prevalence of this error a reason why so little 
attention is paid to their cultivation and exercise by 
the great mass who profess to love the Saviour. O 
there is reason to fear that many, when weighed at 



188 THE KATUEE OF FUTURE HAPPHSTESS. 

the last, in the balances of eternity, will be found 
wanting, in all that is essential to fit them for 
heaven, because the j have relied upon a name to 
live, while they have been dead to those things re- 
quisite in every character which is heavenly. The 
revelations of the Word of God clearly teach us 
that we shall need just that character, which the 
combination of these graces, blended as the colors 
of the rainbow, will form, to enter fully into the joy 
of our Lord. Such a character possessed by the in- 
numerable hosts of heaven, will be beautifully and 
sublimely adapted, beneath the smiles of infinite 
love, and in association with each other, to produce 
the fruits of eternal fruition. The societies of 
heaven will be composed of those in whose charac- 
ters all these graces of the Spirit, portrayed in Scrip- 
ture, will be blended in delightful harmony and con- 
sistency. And hence, all will be prepared cheer- 
fully to take the place which heaven appoints, joy- 
fully to do the work Grod assigns, and contentedly 
and happily to mingle and participate in those un- 
folding purposes, which an eternity may disclose. 



NECESSITY OF AN EXTERNAL HEAYEN. 

Having now considered the character which, ac- 
cording to Scripture, is required to fit us for associ- 
ation with others, and happiness in any place or 
sphere, and from which, as a never-failing source, 
in union with God, our blessedness is to flow — we 



NECESSITY OF AN" EXTEKl!>rAL HEAVEN. 189 

are prepared to turn and view those things external 
to ourselves, which God has promised, and which 
will be found to be wisely and perfectly adapted to 
every faculty, want, and aspiration of a holy mind. 

Though the elements of an endless life of happi- 
ness must be within us, in the moral states and char- 
acter of our own minds ; yet there must be something 
real and tangible without us, upon which our minds 
can act, and towards which our affections can flow, 
and upon which all our powers can be employed in 
appropriate and delightful exercise. The eye must 
have beauties, infinitely diversified, upon which to 
gaze — the ear must listen to the voices of love, and 
the melody of sounds, and every other sense must 
have its appropriate external objects of excitement 
and pleasure. Love must go forth and answer to 
love's call in others, and in all respects an aspiring, 
expanding, and growing mind, must have free room 
to act itself out, externally, upon and in connection 
with kindred objects, and must increase in knowl- 
edge by unrestrained intercourse with the works and 
ways of God. 

There must, in fact, be an external nature or uni- 
verse, in all its illimitable expanse, as now seen, with 
all its infinite diversity of objects, creatures and 
scenery, to give the holy full employment in the 
delightful exercise of all their powers. 

Shut a good man up in some seclusion, away from 
the objects of his love, and let his mind have no lib- 
erty to range and study amid God's wondrous works, 
and though he would never feel the goadings of a 



190 THE ISTATUEE OF FUTUKE HAPPIKESS. 

guilty conscience, his mind would droop as a plant 
shut out from light, and his powers and graces decay 
as one buried in the tomb. Simple holiness would 
not be enough to render him blessed. A holy mind, 
such as the Scriptures require, is only a preparation 
for, and an essential element in the happiness to be 
revealed. It must be placed amid scenes and associ- 
ations of created beings, and such display of the God 
of love as will draw out, and give full and indefinite 
expansion and gratification to all its desires, prompt- 
ings, aspirings and loves. The '^exceeding great 
and precious promises," given to us in Scripture, re- 
fer to things in full harmony with these suggestions. 



HEAVEIT A PLACE. 

As the mind needs a heaven without it as well as 
within it, God has promised to the good a glorious 
and happy place, as their peculiar home in another 
life, and which has a distinct and definite locality 
somewhere in the universe. 

Some maintain that the heaven of Scripture is not 
a place, but a mere state of happiness, which may 
exist anywhere. 

It is a fundamental part of the spiritual system of 
Swedenborg, that in another life we are altogether 
separated from material worlds and things, and that 
in the spiritual world ^' there are no spaces or dis- 
tances," and consequently no localities, ^'but there 
are appearances of spaces, and these are according 



HEAVEN A PLACE. 191 

to their states of life, and the states of life according 
to the states of love." 

Now, for one I confess I can form no idea of any 
world in which there is nothing material, and in 
which there are no spaces, or distances, or localities, 
Qor can I conceive how things having their own pe- 
ailiar forms, and existing as distinct persons, can in- 
aabit an immaterial world in which no spaces, local- 
ities, or time exist. But such, I am confident, is not 
the teachings of the word of God. Not a word of 
any such misty, transcendental moonshine, is to be 
found in Scripture. My soul longs for something 
more substantial to feast upon and enjoy than this. 

The Scriptures do not enter into any formal argu- 
ment on the question whether heaven is a mere state, 
or a place of happiness ; but they everywhere speak 
of it as a place, and designedly employ language 
which is adapted to convey the idea of a glorious 
and happy place, where, in a peculiar sense, is the 
abode of God. Take such passages as the following : 

^'Eejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is 
your reward in heaven^ 

" Take heed that ye despise not one of these little 
ones ; for in heaven^ I say unto you, their angels do 
always behold the face of my Father in lieavenJ'^ 

*^Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." 

*'In my Father's house are many mansions: if it 
were not so, I would have told you. I go to pre- 
pare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a 
place for you I will come again and receive you unto 
myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." 



192 THE ITATUEE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

John^ 14 : 2, 3. To these, numerous other passages 
might be added, all of which speak of heaven as a 
place high and holy. 

That heaven is a place, and a material place, too, 
is farther manifest from the fact that our Lord 
ascended thither in his resurrection body ; and 
wherever he is corporeally, there is heaven. ^' Where 
I am, there shall also my servants be." Enoch and 
Elijah were translated in their material bodies, and 
as they are in heaven in these bodies, heaven must 
be a material place. 

The same thing is clearly evinced in the doctrine 
of the resurrection. As our vile bodies are to be 
raised, changed, and fashioned like unto Christ's 
glorious body, and we are, therefore, to exist in 
heaven in a material form, heaven must be a ma- 
terial place. We might argue it, also, from the 
nature of our minds, and the necessities of the case. 
Our minds are now manifestly fitted for and adapted 
to an external world or universe. Constituted as 
our minds are, how could they grow and expand, 
except in connection with just such a universe as 
now blooms and glows with Jehovah's glory, and 
rolls in grandeur around us ? If we are to be the 
same or similar beings in another life as here, we 
shall need the same or similar connections with an 
external world, to call our powers into action, and 
to manifest to us in living forms, and in infinite 
and endless variety, the perfections of the Incompre- 
hensible. 

Now although, as has been shown, the elements 



HEAVEN A PLACE. 193 

of heaven must be within us, yet who can say that 
a glorious outward heaven — a ^:)foc6 beautiful and 
grand, and in all respects adapted to the mind in its 
sanctified state, would not be immensely desirable, 
and adapted to minister to our enjoyment ? The 
simple bible, view of heaven, as a place, as well as a 
state of happiness, is calculated to give us infinitely 
more pleasing and definite views of the world to 
come, and a more tangible realization of future 
things, than the spiritual theories which make us 
flit about and dance in empty air, without locality, 
distance, measurement, or time. 

Heaven is described to us, as in a peculiar sense 
the Throne of God — the high and holy place — as a 
paradise, or garden of delights — as the abode of 
angels, where they always behold the face of our 
Father — and as the resting place of the spirits of 
just men made perfect. No very definite descrip- 
tion is given of it in Scripture, and, no doubt, for 
the best of reasons — that no language could at pres- 
ent convey to our minds a correct idea of its exceed- 
ing beauty and glory. From the clear intimations 
given, we have reasons to infer that it must tran- 
scend all human conception. '' Many beautiful 
forms pass before us, as we journey through life, 
entrancing our senses ; and there are in earth, and 
in the visions of fancy, many images of exquisite love- 
liness ;" but we may well suppose that heaven im- 
measurably surpasses them all. 

"Dreams cannot picture a world so fair, — 
Sorrow and death may not enter there; 
9 



194 THE KATUEE OF FUTUEE HAPPINESS. 

Time doth not breathe on its fadeless bloom, 
'Tis beyond the clouds, and beyond the tomb." 

What could be more attractive to the holy, than 
the idea of such a place. 



ITS LOCALITY. 

But where is heaven? Suppose we cannot an- 
swer, it will not in any way disprove that it is a 
place, and has locality somewhere amid the innu- 
merable bright orbs that roll above and around us. 
If we knew exactly where it was, it would be of no 
essential, practical benefit. It is a mere question of 
curiosity. We answer, then, we do not know where 
it is. The supposition of Dick may or may not be 
true. It is at least harmless, while it is pleasing, 
and beautiful, and sublimely glorious. It may be 
the central world of the universe. Science reveals 
that our sun and its system of planets, is only one 
of a grand system of suns and worlds, composed of 
the milky-way. Far-off in the distance, beyond the 
galaxy, are seen, by the aid of the telescope, other 
systems as beautiful and resplendent as our own. 
** It is now considered, by astronomers, as highly 
probable, if not certain, that all the systems of the 
universe revolve around one common centre, and 
that this centre may bear as great a proportion, in 
point of magnitude, to the universal assemblage of 
systems as the sun does to his surrounding planets." 
Now, what more plausible than that this great 



THE SOCIETY OF HEAVEN. 195 

central universe may be, in a peculiar sense, the 
tbrone of Jehovah, around which all else move in 
grandeur and harmony. 

The Saviour said, ^' In my Father's house are 
many mansions," and this may be intended to teach 
us that heaven may be composed of an assemblage 
of many worlds, each fitted up by the Eedeemer, 
and adapted to the various orders and societies of 
the good who may fill his house — and between all 
these there may be the most easy communication 
and delightful intercourse. 

"Fair, distant land, could mortal eyes 

But half its charms explore, 
How would om* spirit long to rise, 

And dwell on earth no more. 
No cloud those distant regions know, 

Realms ever bright and fair ! 
For sin, the source of mortal woe, 

Can never enter there." 



THE SOCIETY OF HEAVEN. 

As the mind, trained and fitted for enjoyment, 
will need full exercise for every faculty and affec- 
tion, heaven we are assured will be composed of a 
glorious assembly or society of associated and kin- 
dred minds. 

Our natures clearly indicate that society is essen- 
tial to happiness. We could not exercise love, 
gratitude, humility, patience, meekness, and the 
faculty of communication, in any extended sense, 



196 THE KATUEE OF FUTUKE HAPPINESS. 

without it. Grod made us, and has given us the 
qualifications for association. ^^ It is not good for 
men to be alone." " He setteth even the solitary 
in families." But for society to be a means and 
source of happiness, it must be congenial. It must 
be comprised of kindred minds united in affection, 
interest, and pursuit. The reverse would be misery. 
An association of uncongenial spirits, with clashing 
interests and vile affections, would kindle an un- 
quenchable fire of discord and torment. But who 
compose the society of heaven ? The apostle has 
given us the sum in the twelfth chapter of He- 
brews, ^' But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and 
■ unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Je- 
rusalem, and to an innumerable companj^ of angels, 
— to the general assembly and church of the first- 
born, which are written in heaven, and to God the 
Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made 
perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new cove- 
nant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh 
better things than that of Abel." 

What an assemblage of glorious persons is here 
presented ! What a society, composed of the choice 
spirits of the universe. Let us think them over one 
by one. Conspicuous above all others is God the 
Judge of all — him whom we have been taught to 
call " Our Father in heaven." In view of the mys- 
tery and infinitude of his being, our minds have 
often been confounded and overwhelmed. His 
judgments, too deep for human comprehension, 
have filled us with amazement and awe. His won- 



THE SOCIETY OF HEAVEN". 197 

derful perfections have humbled and caused us to 
tremble, while his love mildly beaming through all, 
has often kindled the most lively and animating 
hope. And now what will it be to be with him ! 
to see him as he is ; to look up and meet the smiles 
of a Father— to dwell *4n his presence, where is 
falness of glory, and at his right hand where are 
pleasures forever more." 

And then in association with, and equal to the 
Father, will be Jesus the Mediator^ who loved us, 
and redeemed us unto God by his blood. As Christ 
is now the brightness of the Father's glory, and the 
express image of his person, so he will, in a parti- 
cular sense, constitute the glory and attraction of 
the society of heaven. The solar system would not 
lose more of its glories were the sun to be blotted 
out, than would heaven, were Jesus not there. As 
he is now the medium through which the love and 
mercy of God flow down to men, so we are assured 
that it will be through the Lamb slain, that the 
blessings of the world to come will be bestowed. 
^' And he said to me. These are they which come 
out of great tribulation, and have washed their 
robes, and made them white in the blood of the 
Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of 
God, and serve him day and night in his temple : 
and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among 
them. They shall hunger no more ; neither thirst 
any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor 
any heat." Why not? '' For the Lamb, which is 
in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall 



198 THE NATURE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

lead them unto living fountains of waters : and God 
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." 

We see in this passage how the glories of the 
Father and the Son are united and blended. Jesus 
is not more the attraction of heaven than the Fa- 
ther. They are one ; and their beauties and honors 
are inseparable. But the Saviour may be most 
conspicuous, because associated still with our na- 
ture, and still the Mediator, through whom the 
streams of eternal blessedness will flow to all the 
holy. 

Next in order, as a part of the society of heaven, 
we may contemplate '^ an innumerable company of 
angels." These are the sons of God, who have 
never sinned, and the morning stars who sang to- 
gether when earth's foundations were laid. Thej 
are God's messengers, and the executioners of his 
will. From Adam down they have humbly and 
joyfully ministered to men in sorrow, temptation, 
and danger, and at each successive step have been 
deeply interested in the unfoldings of salvation. 

Now to be in, and a part of the society of such 
beings, must be exceedingly joyous. Who would 
not love to see and converse with those guardian 
angels, who have watched over us and our ^ kittle 
ones" ? Who would not love to hear them tell how 
anxious they were for our welfare, and how they 
rejoiced when we yielded to God's influence and 
theirs, and turned from sin to the love and obedience 
of the gospel. 

Then there will be the Heavenly— the New Je- 



GEEAT SOCIAL ENJOYMENT. 199 

rusalem — the spirits of just men made perfect, com- 
posing the church of the first-born, whose names 
are written in heaven. Among them will be the 
patriarchs and prophets, apostles and martyrs, and 
the lovely and good of every name, age, and nation. 

^'I beheld,'' says John, '' and lo, a great multitude 
which no man could number, of all nations, and kin- 
dred, and people, and tongues, stood before the 
throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white 
robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a 
loud voice, saying, salvation to our God, which sit- 
teth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." 

We have, then, in the clear revelations of Scrip- 
ture, the demands of our social natures fully met. 
External to ourselves, in those mansions Jesus Has 
gone to prepare, will be an assemblage of choice and 
holy beings, '' such as earth saw never," united in 
love and obedience to God, and bound to each other 
by ties of tenderest affection. To this society, so 
congenial and adapted to our purified minds, we 
shall undoubtedly have constant and pleasing access; 
and in communion and association with them we 
shall perform the high and enrapturing services of 
the sanctuary above. In this society we may cer- 
tainly expect 

GREAT SOCIAL ENJOYMENT. 

This point is not distinctly argued in Scripture, 
but it is incidentally brought to view, and illustrations 
are given which satisfactorily confirm the position. 



200 THE NATUEE OF FUTUEE HAPPINESS. 

Thus it is written, ^* And I say unto you tliat many 
shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit 
down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the king- 
dom of heaven." Matt 8 : 11. 

'^ And ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God. And 
they shall come from the east and from the west, 
from the north and from the south, and shall sit 
down in the kingdom of God." Luhe^ 13: 28, 29. 

These passages certainly intimate the most famil- 
iar and endeared social enjoyment. What else can 
be meant by sitting down with patriarchs and proph- 
ets in the kingdom of God ? reclining with them, 
as at a table or feast, in intimate association and 
communion ? The idea of a supper or feast ancient- 
ly, was undoubtedly associated with the most frater- 
nal and pleasant intercourse. And it is difficult to 
see how the social character of heaven and heavenly 
enjoyments would be more clearly or touchingly 
presented than by representing its guests as reclining 
fraternally at the table of the Lord. 

There are other passages of Scripture which bear 
directly on this point. Our Lord says, ^'For I say 
unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it 
be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. For I say unto 
you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until 
the kingdom of God shall come. And I appoint 
unto you a kingdom, as my father hath appointed 
unto me ; that ye may eat and drink at my table in 
my kingdom." Luhe, 22 : 16, 18, 29, 80. 

Now, whatever all this may mean, can it be rea- 



GREAT SOCIAL ENJOYMENT. 201 

sonably doubted that these sayings do teach that 
there will be great social entertainment and delights 
in heaven ? This is the great idea conveyed under 
the image of a feast, to which patriarchs, and proph- 
ets, and apostles, and all the saved will sit down, 
and not that the kingdom of God will be one of sen- 
sual entertainment. 

All this is in entire harmony with the social na- 
tures God has given us. The Creator has never 
formed anything in vain. He intended that every 
instinct and faculty of our natures should have its 
appropriate external gratification. Can it be sup- 
posed that our social propensities and powers will 
be blotted out ? If not, they must have exercise and 
pleasure. 

Now, how delightfully do all the teachings and, 
intimations of Scripture blend and harmonize with 
the natures God has given us. And this is a high 
and convincing proof of their rationality and inspi- 
ration. What a field for thought is here opened ! O 
how delightful it will be to spend an hour in conver- 
sation with Adam, with Moses, or Gabriel! To 
hear them tell of their experience, and of their pres- 
ent views and prospects and adoring conceptions of 
the Lord ! And thus in turn, and through the years 
of an endless life, with all others. How pleasant 
it will be for those who have been associated in 
labors and trials on earth, to talk them all over, and 
to speak of all God's wondrous works of love, and 
then unite with the great company in some sweeter 
song ^'unto Him that loved us, and washed us from 



202 THE NATUEE OF FUTUKE HAPPINESS. 

our sins in his own blood." But this is not all, for 
the Scriptures quoted clearly intimate, that there 
will be in heaven. 



PEKSONAL RECOGNITION. 

It is affirmed that we shall see Abraham, Isaac, 
and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of 
G-od ; among whom will be Enoch, Noah, Moses, 
Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, David, 
Daniel, Ezekiel, and all others. Now, if we shall see 
all these, is it not clear that we shall personally re- 
cognize and know them ? And if these, may we not 
infer that we shall as certainly see and know all 
others, and especially those whom we have loved, 
and walked to the house of God in company with 
on earth ? 

The scene which occurred upon the Mount, at the 
time of Christ's transfigaration, teaches the same 
thing. It is said, '' And behold there talked with 
him two men, which were Moses and Elias, who ap- 
peared in glory, and spoke of his decease, which he 
should accomplish at Jerusalem.'' In this scene all 
who were present are represented as knowing each 
other. Although Moses and Elias had left the 
world at periods separated by hundreds of years, yet 
they had become acquainted in heaven, and now 
they visited together the Lord of glory. 

The apostle Paul distinctly recognized this doc- 
trine. In writing to the Colossians, he says, after 



PERSONAL RECOGNITION. 203 

referring to Christ as the hope of glory, '' Whom we 
preach, warning every man, and teaching every 
man in all wisdom ; that we may present every man 
'perfect in Christ Jesus." From this language, we 
learn that the apostle was stimulated to be faithful 
in the discharge of his duties by the anticipated 
pleasure of meeting his converts in the heavenly 
world, and presenting them to Christ, as the trophies 
of the power of a Saviour's love. 

In his epistle to the Thessalonians he says, '^ For 
what is our hope, or joy, or crov/n of rejoicing? 
Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, at his coming ? For ye are our glory and 
joy." ^* The manner in which the apostle speaks, 
in this passage, shows that he expected to know his 
converts," in another world. If so, we may hope 
to know our relations and friends there. 

These clear intimations of Scripture, fully meet 
the demands of the universal desire and expectations 
of mankind in regard to meeting their departed 
friends. It has been the general hope and belief, 
among men, that they will know and love their 
friends in the future world. ^* Go where we will, 
we find the sentiment, that friendship is perpetuated 
beyond the grave. It is enshrined in the heart of 
our common humanity. The pure, unsophisticated 
belief of the vast majority of the' followers of Christ, 
is in union with the yearnings of natural affection, 
which follows its object through the portals of the 
grave into the eternal world. What but this causes 
the Christian parent, in the dying hour, to charge 



204 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS, 

his beloved children to prepare for a reunion before 
the throne of the Lamb ? He desires to meet them 
there, and to rejoice with them in the victory. over 
sin and death. The widow, bending in bitter be- 
reavement over the grave of him whom God has 
taken, meekly puts the cup of sorrow to her lips, 
with the assured confidence that the separation 
wrought by death is transient, and that they who 
sleep in Jesus, shall together inherit the rest that re- 
maineth for the people of God. Thus the worm- 
wood and the gall are tempered by the sweet balm 
of hope, and heaven wins the attractions which earth 
has lost. Tell me, ye who have seen the open tomb 
receive into its bosom the sacred trust committed 
to its keeping, in hope o{ the first resurrection ^ — you 
who have heard the sullen rumbling of the death- 
clods, as they dropped upon the cofl&ndid, and told 
you that earth had gone back to earth, — when the 
separation from the object of your love was realized 
in all the desolation of bereavement, next to the 
thought that ere long you should see Christ as he 
is, and be like him, was not that consolation the 
strongest which assured you that the departed one, 
whom God has put from you into darkness, will run 
to meet you, when you cross the threshold of im- 
mortality, and, with the holy rapture to which the 
redeemed alone can give utterance, lead you to the 
exalted Saviour, and with you bow at his feet, and 
cast the conqueror's crown before him ?" — Bev. J. 
F, Berg. 

Dr. Chalmers says, '' Tell us if Christianity does 



PERSONAL RECOaiSriTIOlS'. 205 

not throw a pleasing radiance around an infant's 
tomb ? And shouldjiny parent who hears me, feel 
softened by the remembrance of the light that 
twinkled a few short months under his roof, and at 
the end of its little period expired, we cannot think 
we venture too far when we say, that he is only to 
persevere in the faith, and in the following of the 
Gospel, and that very light will again shine upon 
him in heaven. The blossom which withered here 
upon its stalk, has been transplanted there to a place 
of endurance; and it will there gladden that eye 
which now weeps out the agony of an affection 
which has been sorely wounded ; and, in the name 
of Him who, if on earth, would have wept along 
with them, as we bid all believers present to sorrow, 
not even as others which have no hope, but to take 
comfort in the hope of that country Avhere there is 
no sorrow, and no separation." Scripture and 
reason, and all the aspirations of natural affection, 
unitedly lead us to believe that there will be a per- 
sonal recognition in heaven, and an acquaintance 
formed with all the holy. It is true that great 
changes will pass upon us in our transit from mor- 
tal to immortal, and in the rapid unfolding of our 
powers in heaven ; but these may not be more 
marked than the changes from infancy to manhood, 
and yet we recognize our friends notwithstanding 
all these. Our children may be so altered, that it 
may be necessary for some angel who has watched 
over them to point them out to us, and introduce 
them, just as is sometimes the case on earth when 



206 THE NATUKE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

long separations have taken place. In forming an 
acquaintance, too, with Abraham, and Paul, and the 
innumerable company of angels and saints, it may 
be by regular introduction. As John the Baptist 
pointed out the Land of God to men, and as Gabriel 
announced his own name and office, to those to 
whom he ministered, so as we meet them they may 
announce themselves, or we may seek an introduc- 
tion through others. To be able to recognize all, 
may require a long time. In fact, we may be form- 
ing new acquaintances through eternity. From dif- 
ferent worlds there may be coming up thither new 
personages, with whom we may become associated 
in endeared intercourse. Supposing this to be true, 
it would give variety and freshness to our social in- 
tercourse and enjoyment. 

To some the idea of personal recognition, and a 
renewal of acquaintance with those with whom we 
have been associated on earth, is by no means 
pleasant, and hence is rejected. Their relations in 
life have not been happy. Between husbands and 
wives, neighbors and friends, and often between the 
members of the same church, there has existed, in 
many cases, the most confirmed alienation. To such 
it would be more pleasing, could they be assured 
that they woi:M never see or know those for whom 
they have had no affection, and between whom such 
differences have existed. But let it be remembered 
that none can gain admission to heaven, who have 
any alienation, ill-will or hatred in their hearts. If 
we and those with whom our relations have been 



PERSONAL RECOGNITION. 207 

unpleasant on earth, meet in heaven, we shall have 
left behind us all that is unlovely and unholy, and 
perhaps on our recognition there, our wonder, love, 
and joy may be the greater, when we recount to- 
gether the past, and find that we have been washed 
and saved notwithstanding our differences. But 
perhaps many who hope for heaven will never get 
there on account of those unlovely traits which 
have produced alienations and contentions on earth. 
If we expect to meet and love in the world to come, 
how earnestly should we now seek to love and to cul- 
tivate all those graces which endear and strengthen 
affection. 

But could we suppose that there would be no 
personal recognition in heaven, and that we should 
thereby avoid the renewal of those unhappy asso- 
ciations which have tormented us in the present 
world, our situation might be more wretched than it 
could otherwise be. For as memory would remain, 
we might be tantalized with the suspicion that those 
with whom we were associated on earth might be 
near us, or the very ones with whom we were con- 
versing. It might be to us an exceedingly painful 
source of doubt not to know where our friends were, 
or by whom we were surrounded. It will, no doubt, 
be found upon reflection, that the simple teachings 
of Scripture on this subject are attended with less 
difficulty, and are infinitely more joyous than any 
other view. We could form no consistent and in- 
telligent view of another life, as a continuation of 
the present, were we not permitted to believe in a 



208 THE NATURE OF FUTURE HAPPHSTESS. 

full remembrance of all the past, and a perfect recog- 
nition of ourselves and others. 



PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIPS IN HEAVEN. 

The idea of a personal recognition in heaven, and 
of a reunion of those who have fondly loved on 
earth, often suggests the inquiry, — Will there be 
peculiar friendships in the future, as in the present 
world ? or shall we be equally attached to, and in- 
terested in, all the myriads of the holy ? On this 
point there is nothing definitely revealed in Scrip- 
ture, and yet there is nothing to forbid the indul- 
gence of a sentiment so pleasant. 

The example of our Lord certainly gives some 
support to this view, and conclusively shows that a 
particular friendship is not inconsistent with the 
most exalted purity, and the most refined sensibility, 
and enlarged benevolence, in respect to all. There was 
one disciple whom Jesus loved — loved in a very pe- 
culiar sense, in distinction from the others. There is 
much prominence given to this in Scripture. It is men- 
tioned in some six different passages. ^^ On perusing 
the Evangelists, it appears that he was invariably 
selected by our Lord, as one of the three who were 
present in the most retired scenes of his life, on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, in the house of Jairus, and 
in the garden of Gethsemane. Whoever else were 
absent, John was sure to share his most confidential 
moments, and to witness his most secret joys and 



PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIPS IN HEAVEN. 209 

conflicts. At the paschal supper, to which he looked 
forward with so much eagerness, as the appointed 
season for a more unreserved disclosure of his pur- 
poses than he had made before, he placed John next 
to himself, in such a manner that his head naturally 
rested on his bosom. Through him it was that the 
rest of the disciples applied to our Lord, to be in- 
formed who it was that should betray him. But the 
most decisive evidence of the preference bestowed 
upon John, arises from his being chosen to take care 
of his widowed mother after his decease." — R, Hall. 
And so, after his resurrection and ascension, he con- 
tinued to receive from his Saviour similar proofs of 
his preference. 

Now, as Christ knew no sin, neither was guile 
found in his mouth, his peculiar love for John shows 
that a particular friendship is not inconsistent with 
even Divine purity, and that universal love which 
will flow unobstructed, and uncorrupted, from heart 
to heart, amid the brotherhood of heaven. We see 
not, then, why we may not innocently entertain the 
idea, that there may be some spirit or spirits in 
heaven, more congenial to us than others, and to 
whom we may be more intimately and tenderly 
allied. 

This sentiment is rendered plausible, from the 
consideration that the purity of heaven will not, 
probably, obliterate those peculiarities of character, 
temperament, and taste, which are not sinful, and 
which are essential to our individuality. There will, 
no doubt, be as great a diversity in individual char- 



210 THE NATUEE OF FUTUEE HAPPINESS. 

acteristics, sin excepted, and in gifts, as on earth. 
Hence, we are assured that some ^' shall shine as the 
brightness of the firmament," and others, ^^as the 
stars, forever and ever." Some will be kings, some 
priests unto God ; and the redeemed will differ from 
one another, as do the stars that gem the heavens 
at night. 

Now, these diversities, essential to heaven's order 
and harmony, may, and we should naturally sup- 
pose would, bring some into nearer relationship than 
others, and lay the foundation for peculiar attach- 
ments. It can hardly be supposed that we can be 
equally attached to, and equally familiar with, all 
the innumerable parts of the upper world, as we 
shall be with some few congenial spirits, who may 
occupy the same position and circle in which we 
may move. 

Perhaps those whose friendship on earth has been 
the result of religious principle, and whose love 
has been cemented by the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, amid scenes of like temptation and sorrow, 
will, through all the long years of eternity, cherish 
a peculiar love for each other. Why should they 
not ? Is there anything in Scripture or reason to 
forbid it ? 

But let it be borne in mind, that those merely 
natural relationships which have existed in life, and 
those affections which have not been connected 
with, and sanctified by religion, will not be main- 
tained hereafter. In the resurrection we shall 
neither marry, nor be given in marriage ; but in 



PARTICULAR FRIENDSHIPS IK HEAYEISr. 211 

respect to these natural relations, we shall be all as 
the angels of God, and eqnal one to another — Luhe^ 
20: 36. 

''It must be remembered, that, in the other 
world, we shall love one another, not so much on 
account of the relation and friendship that formerly 
existed between us, as on account of the knowledge 
and virtue that we possess; for, among rational 
beings, whose affections will be all suited to the high 
state of moral and intellectual perfection to which 
they shall be raised, the most endearing relations 
and warmest friendships will be those which are 
founded on excellence of character. What a power- 
ful consideration this, to excite us to cultivate in 
our relations and friends the noble and lasting qual- 
ities of knowledge and virtue, which will prove 
such a source of happiness to them and to us, 
through the endless ages of eternity." — Macknight 

The peculiar love of our Saviour for John, was per- 
haps because the natural disposition of Jesus was 
more nearly like the amiableness and mildness of 
John, than any of the other disciples. Peculiar traits 
of character were, no doubt, the cause of it. The 
fictitious distinctions between the rich and the poor, 
the high-born and the low, will not exist hereafter. 
Character and likeness to Jesus will be the test, 
and these will constitute essential elements in all 
the friendships that will be formed or exist in the 
world to come. Hence, as all in heaven will be in 
the hkeness of the Saviour, any peculiar friendship 
which may exist will not interfere with a universal 



212 THE KATURE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

love for all, any more than Christ's love for John 
lessened his love for the other disciples. 

There is nothing revealed in Scripture which 
shows that heaven has any restraint from these so- 
cialities ; but the example of our Saviour shadows 
forth the reverse. The redeemed, each '^ with his 
choice friend, his mother, brother, sister, wife, child, 
or with all together, may wander forth over the 
flowery hills and plains of glory, drawing delight 
from every object, discoursing of things past and 
present, and weighing their former sorrows against 
their new happiness. There the lover and his loved 
shall meet, who, separated by death, ere reaching 
the consummation of their wishes, went down to 
their graves with this single hope shining like a 
star upon them. There the Davids and the Jona- 
thans of all ages, as faithful to God as to each other, 
may rise up to find their loves immortal." 

There the faithful minister may meet his faithful 
and affectionate people, and renew those friendships 
which were rudely sundered in life. All the rela- 
tions between man and man, which the Creator has 
ordained and revelation has sanctified, will there be 
recognized forever. All the joys of earth, social as 
well as personal, will be treasured there, because 
we cannot go to heaven without carrying our natures 
and our recollections with us. 

This view is in harmony with all the endeared 
and consecrated affections and prompting of our 
natures, and is deeply and fondly cherished in 
human hearts, if not embodied in outward senti- 



PLEASURES OF SEEINO. 213 

ment. Nor is it without its practical influence ; for 
as, according to Scripture, only sanctified affections 
and friendships can exist in heaven — only those 
which bear the impress of the Holy, and are en- 
stamped with the love of God and the Lamb- — a 
motive, high and strong as joys above, is presented, 
to lead us to consecrate all to God, and to seek, by 
all the means and agencies within our reach, that 
union to heaven, and that purity of heart which 
will secure the blessing. ^' But I would not have 
you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them 
which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others 
which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so them also which sleep 
in Jesus will God bring with him." — 1 Thess, 4 : 
13, 14. 

But whatever doubt may exist in the minds of 
any in regard to the point last discussed, it will not 
be disputed that there will be in heaven the 



PLEASURES OF SEEING. 

We shall have eyes in the world to come, and 
these must have objects of beauty and instruction, 
and grandeur upon which to look in endless va- 
riety. 

It has been questioned, by some, whether we shall 
really see God in heaven? The Saviour said, 
*^ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see 
GodJ^ Is not this conclusive that we shall ? We 



214 THE NATUKE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

shall certainly see Jesus Christ, Grod manifest in our 
nature. *' For we know that when he doth appear, 
we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he is." 
Our Lord also prayed, ^'Father I will, that these 
whom thou hast given me, be with me, that they may 
heliold my glory,''^ 

Here the thought is distinctly brought out. A 
part of heaven's happiness will consist in seeing — in 
beholding the glory of Christ. Something more is 
meant in this, than that we shall see his glorified 
person, and the resplendent honors and beauties by 
which he is surrounded in heaven. 

The glory of Christ is the glory of his character 
and infinite perfections. The glory of omnipotence, 
of omniscience, of omnipresence, of wisdom, and 
love, is his. And these in the world to come, as in 
this, will be displayed in the works of his hands, 
and those wonders he will perform through his 
boundless universe. ''The heavens declare the 
glory of God and the firmament showeth his handi- 
work f but all this is a part of the glory of Christ, 
for he made them, and for himself they were 
created. To behold the glory of Christ, then, will 
be to behold his works— the manifestation of his 
boundless perfections and attributes, as they will be 
displayed in the mansions he has gone to prepare, 
and through the universe of created beings which, 
he has formed for the exhibition of himself. 

We understand the passage, therefore, as clearly 
intimating that the boundless universe will be open 
to our vision, and for our investigation, from the 



PLEASURES OF SEEING. 215 

smallest microscopic objects up to the most distant 
and most glorious orb which rolls in undiscovered 
space ; for all these are the glory of Christ, and we 
must see them, if we behold his glory in its wide ex- 
tent. It may take an eternity to see all, but we 
shall need to have new objects and scenes continu- 
ally passing before us forever, in order to give em- 
ployment to our expanding minds, and to minister 
to our pleasure. And God can easily give to our 
resurrection bodies, which will be adapted to our 
spiritual natures, powers of locomotion and vision 
which will enable us to realize all that is promised. 

In these remarks we take it for granted that this 
glorious material universe, in the midst of which we 
dwell, will stand forever — that, whatever physical or 
geological changes may take place in revolving 
systems and worlds, they will still continue to roll 
on, declaring in their evolutions and productions the 
glory of their Creator and Upholder. Poets may 
sing of the " wreck of worlds," of ^* nature's funeral 
pile," and of the quenching of the sun and stars in 
endless night; but we are confidently persuaded 
that no such catastrophies are intimated in Scrip- 
ture. The language which tells of the sun being 
darkened, and the stars falling from heaven, is sym- 
bolical, and was intended to represent those civil, 
political and ecclesiastical revolutions to take place 
on earth, in order to prepare the way for the com- 
ing and universal dominion of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

We cannot tell what may be seen in heaven 



216 THE NATUKE OF FUTUBE HAPPINESS. 

itself, aside from the throne of God and the Lamb, 
and the myriads of pure worshippers who surround 
it. But in the unnumbered worlds which revolve 
around, there will be an infinite variety of objects, 
beautiful and grand, from the smallest microscopic 
insect, up to the huge leviathan that swims the 
flood. *' There will be a solid foothold to walk on ; 
a heavenly air to feed our inspirations ; light to 
break in beauty upon our eyelids ; sounds as soft as 
symphonies, to warble upon our hearing; odors 
sweeter than the scent of roses, fruits more fragrant 
than the growth of earthly paradise, and a universe 
of tangible objects of the fairest forms and qualities, 
to gratify and delight us. Grass will grow, flowers 
will bloom, fruits will ripen, forests will wave, rivers 
and rivulets will roll, high hills will tower, valleys 
will wind and vales expand, and, beyond them all, 
far as the eye can reach, vast blue oceans will for- 
ever heave, and sigh, and swell, where such as we 
shall go to enjoy the faculties we carry with us," 
and to see the wonders of God. 

There may be higher, more perfect, and beautiful 
forms of existence in other worlds than here^ which, 
when we see them, will fill us with adoring wonder, 
in view of the unlimited power, skill, and resources 
of the Eedeemer ; and which will raise our souls to 
higher devotion than ever to him, who, though the 
Creator and Euler of all, stooped to raise us from 
sin, to behold and participate in his glory. The 
Saviour, when on earth, pointed to bird and flower, 
to things animate and inanimate, to illustrate the 



PLEASURES OF HEARING. 217 

wisdom, power, and goodness of God. Why may 
he not in other worlds, and amid higher scenes? 
All this may present no attractions to those who 
have now no taste for the beauties of nature, or dis- 
position to receive pleasure from the study and con- 
templation of the works of God. But if any do not 
now see and enjoy God in his works, it is owing to 
some defect in early training, or some unfortunate 
bias of mind, which will most certainly be corrected, 
in all who truly love the Creator, and delight in his 
purity. In the society and amid the communings 
of heaven, there will undoubtedly be 



PLEASURES OF HEARING. 

Much of the pleasure and enjoyment of life re- 
sults from hearing. It will be so in the world to 
come. This is not conjecture. It is so written. 
How often, in the Eevelations, do we hear the dis- 
ciple saying, ^^ And I heard a great voice." *' And 
I heard the voice of many angels round about the 
throne." ^* And I heard the voice of harpers, harp- 
ing with their harps : and they sang as it were a 
new song before the throne." There will be music 
to be heard. This has been truly styled the ^' divine 
art." Disconnected from the impure thoughts and 
words of men, it is as immaculate as heaven's own 
light. It has powers to enchant and elevate the 
soul almost to heavenly rapture, even amid the im- 
perfections and discords of earth. This divine art 

10 



218 THE NATUKE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS, 

will not be lost or be silent in heaven. There will 
be instruments and songs there, such as earth has 
never heard. 

In the resurrection state, when these vile bodies 
shall be fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body, 
and these harps, of a thousand strings, shall be re- 
tuned to heaven's harmonies, there will be music 
performed through material organs as now, and 
giving utterance to the devotions and joys of sinless 
souls, which will ravish the ear and heart with joys 
unspeakable. But it is a vain and irrational conceit 
of some, to suppose that we shall be continually 
singing through eternity. Our songs of praise there 
will be intelligent, and will, probably, be called 
forth, from time to time, by new manifestations and 
discoveries of the perfections of God, which we shall 
learn in beholding the glory of Christ. To those 
who have no ear or taste for music now, the idea 
that there will be singing in heaven, conveys no 
emotion of pleasure. But let such remember that 
our senses will then all be perfect, and those who 
cannot now sing, through a defective ear, will as 
easily as others catch the notes of the redeemed. 
How pleasant it will be for those who have wor- 
shipped together on earth, to meet occasionally in 
some social gathering in another life, and in recount- 
ing the past, to unite in singing Old Hundred, or 
some other equally famed melody of earth! It 
may be so — we believe it will. 

But music will not be all that will be heard. In 
our social intercourse, we shall hear the speech of 



PLEASURES OF INCREASING KNOWLEDGE. 219 

angelSj the communings of patriarchs and prophets, 
and the voice of friendship and love. Lessons of 
deepest wisdom we may learn, from hearing arch- 
angels and others relate their experience, or rehearse 
the wonders they have seen of the manifestations of 
God, in distant worlds and times. And above all, 
we shall hear the instructions of the Lamb, who will 
feed us and lead us to fountains of living water, and 
whose kindness and love will wipe away every tear 
from every eye. — Bev. 7:17. From the clear revela- 
tions of Scripture, we may certainly look for, in the 
world to come, the 



PLEASURES OF INCREASING KNOWLEDGE. 

It is admitted that the mind of man is susceptible 
of indefinite improvement, and of constantly in- 
creasing knowledge. This clearly intimates its 
future destiny, and points out its eternal and glori- 
ous career. It would be a sad and gloomy prospect 
for the future, were we to remain, through an end- 
less life, as ignorant as we now are, and as narrowly 
contracted in our views. 

To be truly happy, we shall need to be forever 
progressing in knowledge and improvement. Now, 
that which is here suggested as essential to our 
future blessedness, by the demands and capacities 
of the mind, is fully confirmed by the assurances of 
the lively oracles. 

Our Lord said to his disciples, John^ 13 : 7, ** What 



220 THE NATUKE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

I do thou knowest not now ; but thou slaalt know 
hereafter." That is, the reasons and the grand 
results of that which I now do, thou knowest 
not ; but you shall know it all hereafter^ in another 
life.' 

1 Cor, 13 : 12, ^'For now we see through a glass, 
darkly ; but then face to face : now I know in part ; 
but then shall I know even as also I am known." 

1 Cor, 4: 5, "Therefore judge nothing before 
the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to 
light the hidden things of darkness, and will make 
manifest the counsels of the hearts." 

These Scriptures clearly assert a vastly increased 
knowledge in a future state, even a perfect and sat- 
isfactory knowledge of those dark and mysterious 
things which are now connected in our feeble under- 
standings, with the character, and government, and 
works of God. The mysteries of God will then be 
finished. Rev. 10 : 7, and through that long day of 
eternity there will be such unfoldings of the infinite 
mind externally, in his revelations and works, as 
will fill all with admiration, joy, and praise. 

" We have now a sure work of prophecy ; where - 
unto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light 
that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and 
the day star arise in your hearts." 2 Pet 1 : 19. 

How beautifully and grandly expressive this pas- 
sage. The light which we now enjoy in the written 
word, compared with that light or knowledge we 
shall enjoy when the bright sun of an eternal day 
shall burst in cloudless glory upon us, is only like 



PLEASURES OF INCREASING KNOWLEDGE. 221 

the dim lamp or candle that shines in a dark room, 
compared with the glories of a full orbed day, which 
sheds its effulgence over a universe. 

We are justified then, from the Scriptures, in 
reckoning upon the pleasures of increasing knowl- 
edge through the boundless future. The develop- 
ment of the mind in endless succession will require 
this increase, and, the heaven of heavens, and the 
boundless universe illuminated with the glory of 
God, will supply an ample field where this knowl- 
edge may be gathered, and whence this pleasure 
may be derived. And as it seems to be a law of 
heaven, that God is to be known through the works 
of his hands, and through the judgments he has 
wrought, it is a just inference, that in eternity, as 
here, our knowledge will be acquired by the exer- 
cise of our rational faculties, in connection with his 
works. Every power of the mind will then be called 
into action, and will find delightful employment in 
those fields and pursuits in which love divine may 
direct. And we have no reason to suppose that our 
progress will be so slow and wearisome as now. 
The contrary is affirmed. ^'Not only the qualities, 
but the essence of all things may then be plain. The 
close connections, the nice dependencies, the several 
links in the august chain of beings, as well as of 
causes and events, will stand out revealed. Ques- 
tions discussed here for ages, and without success, 
will there be settled at a glance. Memory, reason, 
imagination, every intellectual faculty, will there be 
fully occupied ; the work of expanding these several 



222 THE KATUEE OF FUTUKE HAPPINESS. 

powers, with every other susceptibihty of our nature, 
will be prominent in our employment ; and this self- 
education, by those means of which heaven will 
be full, will every hour bring us to behold, in crea- 
tion's thousand objects, more and more of God, and 
to know more and more of him who will be ever 
incomprehensible. 

But as the exercise of our powers and the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge will not be selfish, we may antici- 
pate in the world to come the 



PLEASURES OF DOIKG GOOD. 

We have reason to believe that much of heaven's 
happiness will consist in performing kind offices for 
others good, and in receiving theirs in return. 

Be not shocked, kind reader, at this announcement. 
You have perhaps contemplated heaven only as a place 
of inactive rest, where, wandering in flowery fields, 
you might bask, as the sensual reptile in the sunshine, 
and drink of the bliss which might be furnished you 
from angelic cups, without any effort or exercise of 
your own. Or, may be, you have only thought of 
sitting down on cushioned seats, or standing up amid 
a great crowd to gaze in awe and wonder on some 
visible halo of glory around the throne, and singing 
psalms through eternity. But is any such view of 
heaven Scriptural or rational ? Let us look at some 
of its clear intimations and revelations. 

1. In the Scriptures, all heaven, from the great 



PLEASURES OF DOING GOOD. 22S 

Creator, downward through all subordinate beings, 
is represented as actively engaged in doing good. 
*^My Father," said the Saviour, ^^ worketh hitherto 
and I work.'' From the creation of the world God 
has been actively engaged in doing good to his 
creatures, in all the laws of his government, and 
in all the operations of his providence ; and it 
will be necessary for him still to work through all 
the loDg ages of eternity, to satisfy the wants of 
every living thing. ^^ The Creator of the ends of 
the earth fainteth not, neither is weary !'' 

The Saviour, too, has ever been actively em- 
ployed. On earth he went about doing good. In 
heaven he now lives to make intercession, and has 
gone to prepare mansions for those who love him. 
And then through all the long future the people of 
God shall hunger and thirst, and want and suffer 
no more, ^^ For the Lamb which is in the midst of 
the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them 
unto living fountains of waters : and God shall wipe 
away all tears from their eyes." Rev, 7 : 17. 

And then the angels, too, what are they doing ? 
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent fort to min- 
ister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" 
Heh, 1 : 14. And will they ever cease or wish to 
cease the blest employment ? 

Now, we have a right to infer from all this, that 
there must, and will be, some good for the saved to 
do in the world to come. If not, they will be in 
this respect wholly unlike God, unlike the Saviour, 
unlike the angels. But we are told definitely, that 



224 THE KATUEE OF FUTUEE HAPPINESS. 

we are to be like Christ, and in the resurrection to 
"be equal unto the angels ; and shall we not share in 
their blessedness of doing good ? "Where among all 
the works or creatures of God is to be found that 
which is always receiving, but nothing returning, 
except among the lost ? The saints would consti- 
tute an anomaly in God's universe, wer6 it true that 
in heaven they would be the constant recipients of 
blessings, and yet not be blessings to others in re- 
turn. 

2. We infer that there will be some great deeds 
of kindness and goodness to be done, by the saints 
in the various departments of the universal king- 
dom of their Lord, /rom the high and responsible 
ofl&ces they are to fill and sustain. 

Eev, 1:6,^^ Unto him that loved us and washed 
us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made 
us hings djidi priests unto God." Eev, 5 : 9, 10, " And 
they sung a new song, saying, thou art worthy to 
take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for 
thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us unto God by 
thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and 
people, and nation ; and hast made us unto God hings 
and priests : and we shall reign on the earth,'''' 

" To him that overcome th will I grant to sit with 
me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and am 
set down with my father in his throne." Rev. 3 : 21. 

Here, then, are high of&ces designated to be sus- 
tained by the redeemed, in the kingdom of the Ee- 
deemer. In some sense they are to be sharers vath 
him in the honors of his throne, and in the execu- 



PLEASURES OF DOING GOOD. 225 

tion of that government whicli is to extend its happy 
influence over all the good. If we are to be kings, 
then there mnst be something, or somebody over 
whom we shall reign ; and if we are to be priests, 
then there must be somebody to whom we are to 
minister for their good — as the angels now minister 
to us. 

There would be no force in these official designa- 
tions, were there no good or service for us to per- 
form in the future world. These Scriptures repre- 
sent heaven to us as a world of subordinations, and 
dependencies, in which all will be employed in 
higher or lower stations in laboring for, and minis- 
tering to each other's good. 

Kings will then reign, not for personal grandeur, 
but for the good of others in some department of 
the universe ; and priests will minister, only to be 
the instruments of communicating to those to whom 
they may be sent. ^' He that is greatest among you 
let him be your servant." 

3. In harmony wnth these unmistakable Scrip- 
tural intimations, we infer that one part of heaven's 
employment and enjoyment will consist in doing 
good, from the fact that the universal love which we 
are now required to cultivate for all, in preparation 
for the world to come, and the good works we are 
continually called upon to perform in view of the 
same great end, are adapted to prepare us for these 
services. 

It will not be disputed that we are most clearly 
and earnestly required in Scripture to do good unto 

10* 



226 THE NATURE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

all men, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to 
visit the sick, the widow and the fatherless in their 
affliction, and even to bless them that curse us, to do 
good to them that hate us^ and to pray for them that 
despitefully use and persecute us, that we may be 
the children of our Father in heaven, and thus be 
fitted for his service hereafter. 

We know there can be no religion in this world, 
and no true enjoyment of religion, except in the ex- 
ercise of benevolent affections going out in benevo- 
lent effort for others good. The religion which does 
not lead to this is false and delusive. Now, why 
does God impart to us a religion which leads us to 
love and do good to others, and why does he re- 
quire us to do this continually in view of the re- 
wards of eternity, if there is no good to be performed 
in another life ? Throughout the kingdom of God 
there is a wise adaptation of means to an end. 
Nothing is made or done in vain. And if this same 
law is to prevail in the future, we may safely infer, 
that the love which our Lord requires us now to 
possess, and the benevolent effort he now unceas- 
ingly calls upon us to make, clearly intimate a ser- 
vice of a similar character to be performed in the 
world to come, for which the present is preparatory. 

The powers possessed, and exercised, and devel- 
oped in childhood and youth, are only preparatory 
to their exercise in after-life. So must all that we 
now possess, be called into action, in future. 

4. The same conclusion is drawn from the fact 
that to the truly good and henevolent^ there is no hap- 



PLEAS UKES OF DOING GOOD. 227 

piness in the present world, equal to that derived 
from doing good. Our Lord Jesus said, ^^ It is more 
blessed to give than to receive." Was this intended 
for earth only, or was it designed to teach us that 
everywhere, and in any world, there is more bless- 
edness to be received from giving or doing good, 
than from receiving ? And shall Grod shut us out 
from the greater good in the world to come, and 
make us there only the receivers, and not the pro- 
moters of good ? Shall this be the employment of 
God — ^the Eedeemer, through eternity, and of his 
angels, and yet his saints have no participation in 
this his highest joy? Shall his people be workers 
together with him here on earth, and yet be excluded 
in the higher life ? where then will be the out- 
goings of our love ? And how will those benevo- 
lent graces and characters which we are now re- 
quired so earnestly to seek, find appropriate devel- 
opment and exercise? Now, to us it seems clear 
from the fact, that the more pure and benevolent 
and godlike we become on earth, the more we long 
and desire to do good, and the more pleasure we 
take in acts of true beneficence, that such, in a high 
degree, will be the nature of our employments in 
heaven; and from this, one source of our highest 
enjoyment will be derived. Viewed in this light, — 

" This world's nofc all a fleeting show, 
For man's illusion given ; 
He that hath sooth'd a widow's woe, 
Or wip'd an orphan's tear, doth know 
There's something here of Heaven. 



228 THE NATURE OF FUTUBE HAPPINESS. 

** And he that walks life's thorny "way, 

With feelings calm and even, 
Whose path is lit from day to day, 
By virtue's bright and steady ray, 

Hath something felt of Heaven. 

" He that the Christian's course hath run, 
And all his foes forgiven, 
Who measures out life's little span 
In love to God, and love to man, 
On earth hath tasted Heaven " 

We need not, then, really wait for heaven in an- 
other life. In proportion as we become like God, 
and engage in the great work in which he is ever 
employed, heaven will come down to greet and 
cheer us here. All nature then, in harmony with 
the promptings of eternal love, seems clearly to 
point out man's future and beneficent career. 

" The rolling waves, the sun's unwearied course, 
The elements and seasons, all declare 
For what the Eternal Maker has ordained 
The powers of man : we feel within ourselves 
His energy divine : He tells the heart 
He meant, He made us to behold and love 
What he beholds and loves, the general orb 
Of life and being : to be great like him, 
Beneficent and active." 

Should any ask what good there will be to be 
done in the world to come, among the saved, where 
all will be holy and happy, we answer. The fact that 
we cannot tell, furnishes no argument against the 
view presented. We could easily conjecture enough 



PLEASURES OF DOING GOOD. 229 

that might and cOuld be done in entire harmony 
with the perfection and blessedness of heaven, and 
yet as it is not written out, it might, or it might not 
be, just as we supposed. According to the millena- 
rian view of the world to come, the saints, under 
Christ, are to judge or rule over the world, and are 
to be his ministers, to execute his loving kindness to 
the ceaseless generations who shall be born, and 
ripen for higher spheres. According to this view, 
we shall be employed hereafter in the same blessed 
work, only in a higher and more blessed state, that 
our trials and characters fit us for here on earth. 

But suppose this view of the subject is not cor- 
rect, and that in the immediate vicinity of the 
throne, and in the midst of the great congregation 
in which we shall assemble from time to time, there 
will be no special good for us to do to others, still 
in this wide universe, and amid these worlds that 
roll around us, there may be room enough for the 
exercise of all our powers, and objects enough upon 
which our tenderest sympathies and warmest affec- 
tions may be lavished in doing good. God may 
send us, as he now sends the angels to our world, 
to other and far-off worlds, to guide and teach and 
train those inferior to ourselves for the higher 
allotments of their being. We need not fear that 
God cannot find full employment for all the facul- 
ties he has given us, and for all the pure affections 
and graces he has trained us to amid life's trials. 
O what a motive to cultivate benevolent affections 
and the love of doing good is here presented. The 



230 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

view taken is full of practical and benign import- 
ance. Out then ye idle and selfish, and be doing, or 
heaven may never be yours. 

From this view of the employments of the re- 
deemed, we may turn and contemplate the joyous 



CONVOCATIONS OF HEAVEN. 

It is clearly revealed that the worship of God 
and the Lamb in heaven will constitute a prominent 
source of enjoyment. This will not be doubted. 
Some speak and write of heaven, as if every mo- 
ment there would be unceasingly employed in acts 
of adoration and praise to the great Eternal. But 
such are not the intimations of Scripture, or the 
suggestions of reason. Heaven, we doubt not, will 
have her Sabbaths — her seasons of great and holy 
convocation, regularly returning, when the great 
congregation shall assemble from the various de- 
partments of the better land, and from all the out- 
posts and stations of the kingdom, in the great tem- 
ple of Jehovah, reared by his own hand, and gar- 
nished with his own fingers, to engage in social and 
united thanksgiving and praise. 

In the first .-ind second chapters of the Book of 
Job, we read that, '^ there was a day^'' a set time, 
^^ when the sons of God come to present themselves he- 
fore the LordP It is generally understood that by 
the sons of God here are meant the angels. It 
seems, then, that the angels have a day or set time 



CONVOCATIONS OF HEAVEN. 231 

in which to present themselves before the Lord. 
And if such a season, regularly returning, is ap- 
pointed for the angels, why may we not conclude 
that there will be for the redeemed, who in the re- 
surrection are to be made like unto the angels? 
That, as in Zion of old, emblem of the holy, there 
will be great festive occasions, when the tribes of 
the Lord will go up to worship, to recount their 
joys and the wondrous displays of love, wisdom, 
and power, they have witnessed in those depart- 
ments where it has been their honor and happiness 
to minister ? Such an idea is more pleasant and 
rational than any other. We doubt not that hea- 
ven will have her Sabbaths — when, during eternal 
ages, every occupation will cease, ^^ while angel and 
archangel, and patriarch, and prophet, and apostle, 
and every order, class, grade, and tribe of heaven's 
busy multitudes will come from every region, 
thronging to the mount of worship, where the throne 
is set — where the martyrs stand — where the elders 
sit — where the harpers harp — where the company 
of the singers shout — where the lightnings and 
thunders are mingled with the sound of the trumpet 
— where the voice of every creature that is in hea- 
ven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and 
such as are in the sea, and of all that are in them, 
are heard, saying, ^'Blessing, and honor, and glory, 
and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the 
throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." And 
here, as mind kindles mind, and heart warms to 
heart, and eye sparkles with exulting joy to eye, 



232 THE NATUEE OF FUTUEE HAPPIKESS. 

will burst forth those rapturous songs, led on, may 
be, by sainted bards of old, whicli will fill all heaven 
with unutterable delights, and inspire the worship- 
pers to higher and more ardent zeal in the service 
of their Lord. 

This view is not contradicted by the passage in 
Rev, 4 : 8, which represents the four living creatures, 
having each six wings, and full of eyes within, as 
resting not day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, 
holy, Lord God Almighty.." These creatures are 
symbolical, and of course their acts are symbolical 
also, and they were never intended to represent 
literally the employments of the redeemed through 
unending ages. And yet viewing them as the sym- 
bols or representatives of the redeemed, their acts may 
represent the spirit which will pervade their minds 
at every step of their progress. Amid the hosts of 
heaven, everything will be done in the service of 
God. Whether ruling as kings, or ministering as 
priests, all will be in love and obedience to Jehovah ; 
and at every step and turn they will see his glory, 
and in spirit, say " Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Al- 
mighty, the whole universe is full of his glory." 

O my soul, what scenes and joys are in reserve I 
And shall earth allure thee, and unfit thee for de- 
votions and services so pure and lovely ? 

DIFFEEENT DEGEEES OF GLOEY IN HEAVEN. 

The opinion has been entertained by some, that 
as all are saved by grace, all in heaven will be 



DIFFEEENT DEGEEES OF GLOEY IN HEAVEN. 233 

equally rewarded ; and, hence, that there will be no 
different degrees in glory. But this is unscriptural. 
*The angel revealed to Daniel, 12 : 3, that " they 
that be wise, shall shine as the brightness of the 
firmament ; and they that turn many to righteousness, 
as the stars forever and everP This passage shows 
that those who are most eminently useful will occupy 
a higher position in heaven, than those who are 
simply pious. 

In the parable of the talents, Luke, 19 : 12-27, 
our Lord teaches, that there will be very different 
degrees in the rewards bestowed. To some will be 
given authority over ten cities, to others five, and 
to others two, according to their fidelity in improving 
that committed to them. 

In other Scriptures we are taught that some are 
to be kings, and some priests unto God — showing a 
wide difference in the official stations, which the re- 
deemed will fill. 

It is also affirmed, as a universal principle of rec- 
titude in the judgments of the world to come, that 
all, the righteous as well as the wicked, will be re- 
warded according to their works. Now, it follows 
from this, that as some good people make far greater 
attainments in holiness in this world than others, 
and do vastly more to bless mankind, and honor 
God, their reward must be proportionally greater. 
It is true they, as well as others, are accepted in the 
beloved ; but in Christ, God has been pleased to 
hold out this incentive of an increased glorious re- 



234 THE NATUEE OF FUTUEE HAPPINESS. 

ward to tlie faithful, to stimulate and encourage them 
to every good word and work. 

And, then, can any reasonably suppose that he • 
who has just religion enough to get into heaven, 
will have as bright a crown, and occupy as exalted 
a position as Paul, who devoted long years of affec- 
tionate labor, amid trials and sufferings, to the cause 
of the Eedeemer. Will those who have lived at 
home, and at their ease, and made no self-denying 
sacrifices for others' good, be on an equality with 
those devoted missionaries who, amid great trials 
and sufferings, have gone into the dark places of 
the earth to preach the unsearchable riches of 
Christ ? Will the idler in God's spiritual vineyard, 
receive the same as the devoted and zealous ? To 
suppose such a thing, would be most unreasonable 
and unjust, as well as unscriptural. 

But according to a very obvious law of human 
minds, there will be a necessity for different degrees 
in heaven. It is quite certain that the more an 
individual's mind is expanded by love, virtue, and 
knowledge in the present world, the higher, in the 
world to come, will be the point from which he will 
commence his upward and onward progress during 
eternal ages. He will be prepared, in the beginning, 
for a higher position, and for greater enjoyments 
than others, who have had less love, less holiness, 
and less divinely-inspired knowledge than he. 
There will, no doubt, be many very striking reyerses 
even in heaven. The slave may there be above his 
master, and the servant above his lord. Not in all 



HEAVEN INCOMPREHENSIBLE. 235 

cases those who have been most distinguished and 
honored on earth, will be most renowned hereafter. 
The poor, in many instances, will there have the 
pre-eminence. God will exalt the lowly. Those 
who have been most humble, most pure, most self- 
denying for others' good, and who have contended 
most earnestly, even unto death, striving against sin, 
will receive a crown of life most resplendent. 
Knowledge unsanctified, and perverted to selfish, 
base, and ambitious ends, will not avail in the 
future. It must be connected with justice, mercy, 
and the love of Grod and man, or it will only be as 
a mill-stone about our neck, to sink us in deep 
waters of sorrow. It is to be feared that many will 
be vast losers to all eternity, from inattention to the 
clearly-revealed truth under consideration, and in- 
dolence, negligence, and unbelief in the great work 
of life given us to do. It is only by giving diligence 
to add to all our virtues, that an abundant entrance 
will be administered to us into the everlasting king- 
dom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 2 Peter^ 
1 : 5-11. 

HEAVEN INCOMPREHENSIBLE. 

But after all that has been written, it may em- 
phatically be said, '^ It doth not yet appear what we 
shall be," though there are some things definitely 
revealed. The things which are unseen are eternal. 
But what finite mind can comprehend eternity? 
Think of as many years as there are stars in the 



236 THE NATURE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. 

sky ; as many ages as there are sands on the ocean 
shore ; as many cycles of ages as there are spires of 
grass on earth's wide surface ; and then run over all 
these again, as many times as there are leaves in all 
the forests of the world, and had you a mind capa- 
ble of summing up the vast amount, there would 
still be an eternity unlimited, stretching in the ex- 
panding future. The child of a few years old, could 
not understand his short earthly existence, were it 
minutely told him. His faculties and experience 
would not be large enough to grasp his three score 
years and ten. How then can we, a few years older, 
comprehend what we shall be or enjoy through an 
infinite duration? We could not were it all re- 
vealed. We should not have time to read it. It 
would take an eternity. Hence the great outline is 
only given. The filling up is reserved for actual 
experience in the unfoldings of an endless life. 
Hence, any one might ask a thousand questions 
about the minutia of the world to come, and our 
progress through unending years, which cannot be 
answered because not revealed, and which could not 
be appreciated, if they were, because not now able 
to see all their bearings and relations. There are 
deep mysteries hanging about our present and future 
existence, which the wisest cannot penetrate. It is 
only our faith in God, in the benevolence of his 
character, and in the universal and eternal rectitude 
of his government, that can give us rest and peace 
on the rolling billows of the ocean of life, and as we 
look into the mysteries of the future. Faith we 



HEAVEN IXCOMPREHEXSIBLE. 237 

need now, and faith we shall need through eternity. 
All this does not detract from heaven. There is a 
pleasure in mystery, in the longings and anticipa- 
tions it excites. Enough, however, is revealed to 
satisfy all the reasonable demand and aspirations of 
our natures — enough to show us that heaven has 
attractions infinitely transcending anything which 
this world can aive or take awav — enoueh to assure 
us that every want of our souls will there be met, 
that every desire will be gratified — every longing 
filled — ever}' pain assuaged — all tears wiped away, 
and all that can hurt or destroy subdued. 

And now let it come to every heart, as a personal 
and momentous inquiry. Is heavenly happiness 
mine ? Am I prepared for it ? Am I living in view 
of it, and acting in reference to it? Am I, in de- 
pendence on God, and according to his Gospel, 
seeking to form and cultivate a character in har- 
mony with it ? The question is soon to be settled, 
whether this heaven shall be ours or not. What 
amazing interests are at stake ? 

"How much is to be done 1 My hopes and fears 
Start up alarm'd, and o'er life's narrow verge 
Look down — on what ? A fathomless abyss ; 
A dread eternity ! how surely mine ! 
And can eternity belong to me. 
Poor pensioner on the bounties of an hour ?" 

O what a loss it will be to miss such a heaven as 
is revealed. Eeader, it is possible, it may be lost. 
Just as you may lose any earthly happiness, by 
neglecting to seek it in the appointed time and way. 



238 THE NATUKE OF FUTUEE HAPPINESS. 

How many destroy their peace, and character, and 
happiness in the present life, and involve them- 
selves in inextricable ruin. It is just as possible to 
do it in reference to the world to come. It would 
be contrary to all reason and analogy were it not so. 
Who is willing to run the risk? There is only 
one right way. '' The path of the just is as the 
shining light, which shineth more and more unto the 
perfect day." ^^Mark the perfect man, and behold 
the upright, for the end of that man is peace." 
The apostle John assures us that ^' Every man that 
hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he 
is pure." -^ How can two walk together except they 
be agreed ?" We must be like Jesus, and like heaven 
in character, or we could not be happy were we ad- 
mitted there. Eeader, are you ready ? 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE I^ATUEE OF FUTUEE PUNISHMENT. 

" And chiefly thou, Spirit, that doest prefer 
Before all temples, the upright heart and pure, 
Instruct me, for thou knowest : — 

What in me is dark 

Illumine ; what is low, raise and support — 
That to the height of this great argument 
I may assert eternal Providence, 
And justify the ways of God to men." — Milton. 

The only spot in the world to come, whicli is not 
delightfully attractive, is hell. But even this may 
have attractions for all whom heaven owns or draws 
not, if not pleasant or willing. As gravitation draws 
bodies within its influence to earth, as the cess-pool 
gathers in its cavity the sediment conveyed in drains, 
as the grave claims, and the worm revels in the dead, 
and as the unsanctified usually seek their place and 
pleasures away from the sanctuary, and the love, and 
the service of God — so, naturally, and by an inevita- 
ble law of nature and sin, may hell draw the wicked 
to its dark domain, and bury in its grave, in which 
the worm never dies, the morally and spiritually dead. 

Kefuse, not, friend, to read, to consider, to ponder. 
It may do thee good. If hell has no pleasing attrac- 



240 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUKISHMENT. 

tions — if it is indeed a dark spot in the moral land- 
scape of the future world — a deep and miry morass, 
in which those who sink rise no more — it has powers 
to warn, to entreat, to persuade from sin. *^The 
prudent man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself." 
Why should not the sinner ? If the dark storm was 
gathering around you, would you shut your eyes to 
dangers, and close your ears to the warnings of the 
distant warring elements, and not rather seek a shel- 
ter ? Were you in the midst of the pestilence, would 
you remain indifferent, or would you not rather flee 
from before it to some secure retreat ; or, if taken, 
provide yourself immediately with an effectual 
remedy ? 

Hell may be avoided. There is a high-way — a 
glorious highway around it, laid out by the Lord of 
glory, and paved with infinite love, and guarded by 
the perfections and angels of God. It is the highway 
of holiness. "The unclean shall not pass over it; 
no lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall 
go up thereon, it shall not be found there ; but the 
redeemed shall walk there : and the ransomed of the 
Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and 
everlasting joy upon their heads : they shall attain 
joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee 
away.'' O wicked, turn ye into the way of life. 
Enter into the gate of heaven^ — the straight gate, 
which opens unto the path of obedience, purity, and 
unending glory. "Let the wicked forsake his way, 
and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him 
return unto the Lord, who will have mercy upon 



IMPOETANCE OF THE SUBJECT. 241 

him; and unto our God, for he will abundantly 
pardon." Is. 55 : 7. 

That you may be intelligently persuaded to do 
this, and understand definitely what it is that you 
are called upon to shun, and be able to appreciate 
the justice and benevolence of God in the sufferings 
of the lost, it is proposed to discuss particularly, the 
nature of future punishment, as revealed in Scrip- 
ture, and show its consistency with the character, 
government and benevolence of Jehovah. 

The limits assigned to this subject will not allow 
us to consider particularly the Scriptural proofs of 
the reality of a future punishment. 

Taking this point for granted, except as it may be 
incidentally sustained by passages adduced for other 
purposes, the question proposed is, What is the na- 
ture of that punishment which God has threatened to 
inflict upon the disobedient and impenitent? 



THE IMPOETANCE OF THE SUBJECT. 

This is not an idle question, having no beneficial or 
practical bearings. It is vitally important to a cor- 
rect understanding of the character and government 
of God. A knowledge of the criminal laws of any 
government, and of the punishments inflicted upon 
transgressors, is necessary to enable us to form a 
correct estimate of its character, and of the justice 
and benevolence of its rulers. Should some govern- 
ment or prince^ within our knowledge, inflict its 

11 



242 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

punishments, as do the savages, hj studying to pro- 
duce the greatest amount of personal suffering; and 
should another, pursuing a more humane policy, 
simply shut criminals up by themselves where they 
could do no harm, and there suffer them to reap the 
fruit of their own doings; our judgments and feel- 
ings in respect to their character, and our acquies- 
cence in their laws, would be very materially affected. 
In the light of civihzation and benevolence, and 
according to the constitution of our minds, we could 
not but approve the one, and condemn the other. 

So as we are called upon cheerfully to submit to 
the government of God, cordially to approve and 
acquiesce in his decisions, and willingly and joyfully 
to yield to his sway, it is important that we should 
understand, definitely, if possible, the demands of 
his love, the rewards he will bestow upon the right- 
eous, and the nature of the punishments which will 
be inflicted on transgressors. 

Extravagant and unscriptural views in regard to 
the nature of future punishment, have disgusted 
and driven thousands into infidelity and other er- 
rors, who might have been won to the love and 
obedience of the truth by more Scriptural and ra- 
tional convictions. 

Imagination or superstition are of no authority 
here. If Ave have no right to take from, we must 
be equally careful not to add to that which is re- 
vealed. It is our privilege humbly to inquire what 
has God taught ? 

To present this subject as clearly as possible, and 



NOT ANNIHILATION. 243 

for the purpose of refuting some prevalent errors, 
it is proposed, Fvrst^ to consider some of those things 
which do not constitute or enter into the nature of 
future punishment ; and, Secondly^ in what, accord- 
ing to the various representation of Scripture, it 
does consist. 

The future punishment threatened is manifestly 



NOT ANNIHILATION. 

The belief that annihilation, or an entire extinc- 
tion of conscious existence, is the peculiar punish- 
ment of sin threatened in Scripture, has been 
greatly revived of late, and is more extensivelj^ held 
than is supposed by those who have not had the 
opportunity of knowing. It will be proper, there- 
fore, to notice it, in attempting to determine what 
are the teachings of the Word of God. It must be 
admitted that there are passages which, taken se- 
parately, very naturally suggest the idea ; but then 
the Scriptures must be consistent with themselves, 
and harmonious; and hence, when an interpreta- 
tion is given of certain passages which brings them 
into collision with others, equally clear in their 
statements, it is certain that such an interpretation 
is wrong. 

1. An indiscriminate annihilation of the wicked, 
however diversified their characters and crimes, 
cannot be the punishment threatened ; because the 
Scriptures uniformly declare that God will, in the 



244 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

awards of the world to come, render to every man 
according to his works. It will not be necessary to 
quote the passages which affirm this. They are 
many. We cannot conceive of any principle of 
government more just, or equitable. But how could 
the guilty be rewarded according to their works, 
were all punished alike ? It is obvious that if one 
man is fifty times more wicked than another, he 
must receive fifty times more punishment, or they 
could not be dealt with according to their deeds. 
To render to all men alike, however various 
their degrees of guilt, would be as palpably unjust, 
as to punish the less guilty more than the greatest 
sinners. There is a great variety of character among 
men, and as great a variety in the degrees of guilt 
attached to each one. In the judgment of God, 
therefore, there must be a discrimination, and 
awards must be rendered equally various, or the 
great principle of the Divine government, giving to 
every one according to the deeds done in the body, 
must be subverted. But annihilation is one and 
the same thing to all — therefore to annihilate all 
the wicked indiscriminately would be treating them 
all alike, and would be in plain and open contra- 
diction to all those Scriptures which teach that pun- 
ishments will be various — that some should be 
be beaten with many, and some with few stripes, 
Luke^ 12 : 47, ^' And that it shall be more tolerable 
for Tyre and Sidon, and for Sodom and Gomorrah, 
in the day of judgment, than for Ohorazin, Beth- 
saida, and Capernaum, Matt 10 : 15. And that the 



NOT ANNIHILATION. 245 

scribes and Pharisees were to receive the greater 
condemnation, Matt 23 : 14. These things could 
not be true, were annihilation the future punish- 
ment of the wicked. 

To all this it has sometimes been replied, that the 
wicked will be rewarded according to their works, 
in that they will suffer various degrees of torment 
in the fires or miseries which will attend the process 
of annihilation. But this is to make the threatened 
punishment to consist, not in annihilation, but in 
the suffering preceding it. Were this true, the fact 
would be sufl&cient to show that future punishment 
will not be annihilation. If these prior sufferings 
were intense, and were aggravated in proportion to 
the guilt of men, then annihilation would be no 
punishment, but would come in as a kind deliverer 
— a sweet and longed-for release. 

2. It is clear that annihilation cannot be the fu- 
ture punishment threatened in Scripture, because it 
contradicts all those passages which represent future 
punishment as consisting in some kind of actual 
misery. It is not the design to speak of the nature 
of this misery in this connection. This will be con- 
sidered in another place. The fact that there will 
be some kind of positive suffering is all that is in- 
sisted on. In proof, such passages as these might 
be referred to, '^And the smoke of their torment 
ascendeth up forever and ever." *' And there shall be 
weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth." " Where 
their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched." 
But there can really be no misery or torment in an- 



246 THE NATUKE OF FUTUKE PUNISHMENT. 

nihilation. The momentary dread whicli tlie wicked 
may feel, according to this theory, and which is not 
annihilation^ will be no more than the dread of a 
beast an instant before death. But when the deed 
is done, and we sink into nothing, it will be as 
though we never were. We shall lie quiet and 
peaceful, while the wave of oblivion rolls eternally 
over us. No one is conscious of anything before 
he was born. Nor will he be after he ceases 
to exist. What punishment or misery can there be 
to any when they are not ? You might as well talk 
of punishing empty space, or imaginary phantoms, 
as to talk of inflicting misery on men by annihila- 
tion. Hence it may be clearly seen that this idea 
is wholly incompatible with the representations of 
Scripture respecting future misery, and it therefore 
cannot be true. The Word must be consistent with 
itself; and as shown above, when any interpretation 
brings one part into collision with another, it must 
be erroneous. 

8. The death threatened in Scripture as the pecidiar 
penalty of sin^ does not teach or imply annihilation. 
" The wages of sin is death."— i?om. 6 : 23. '' The 
soul that sinneth, it shall die." 

Now, there is not a fact in nature that shows that 
death does, or can annihilate anything. Death is 
simply a dissolution or separation. In regard to the 
body, when its work is completed, it only dissolves 
it into its separate elements. It separates the parts 
of which it is composed. It does not annihilate a 
single particle. All remain. Does it then extin- 



NOT ANNIHILATION. 247 

guish tlie rational and thinking principle? Cer- 
tainly there is nothing in the import of death, or in 
the results which follow, which indicate such an an- 
nihilation. The most natural and obviously Scrip- 
tural idea of death, is a separation — it separates soul 
and body. '^ Then shall the dust return unto the 
earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto 
God who gave it." Ecc. 12 : 7. 

It is because death is a separation that the wages 
or punishment of sin is termed death. Sin will sep- 
arate the sinner from the presence of God— from 
heaven, its society, and blest and holy enjoyments. 
This separation will be the wages — the natural and 
legitimate effect of sin. It is therefore deaih^ in its 
very appropriate sense. Between death then, and 
annihilation, there is not a shadow of resemblance. 
The one properly considered does not suggest the 
other. It would be extremely hazardous to build a 
hope of an escape from future misery on an infer- 
ence so illogical. 

4. The words destroy ^ destruction j and others of like 
import^ so repeatedly used in Scripture, in describing 
future punishment, do not teach or imply annihila- 
tion. ^^ To destroy," as understood in all languages, 
'4s only to change the mode or condition of exist- 
ence in such a manner as to disqualify, disable, or 
prevent that which is destroyed, from answering the 
condition or end for which it was designed. When, 
for example, a city is said to be destroyed by a 
siege or an earthquake, the meaning is not that the 



248 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE PUJSTISHMENT. 

substances of which it is built are annihilated, but 
that they are so changed in condition and relation- 
ship, that they are no longer applicable to the uses 
for which they were erected. There may be vast 
remains of walls, temples, fortresses, palaces, thea- 
tres, and other structures that may continue to stand 
for ages almost without dilapidation. Yet the city 
is said to be destroyed, because it is so marred and 
demolished as to prevent its being used for the pur- 
poses for which it was designed — and such is its 
meaning generally.^' 

So, also, we say that men are destroyed, when they 
are disqualified or disabled from answering the high 
end of their being. When applied to future punish- 
ment it has the same general and significant import. 
God made men to be happy, but sin renders them 
miserable, and thus defeats the end for which they 
were designed, and destroys them. God made men 
to answer high and holy purposes in heaven ; but 
on account of the moral ruin which wickedness ac- 
complishes in them, they are unfitted to answer the 
purposes for which they were made, and they are 
therefore truthfully said to be destroyed. It is said 
that the wicked will be destroyed hereafter, because, 
on account of their sinful characters, and the condi- 
tion in which they will be placed, they will be dis- 
abled and cut off from the end at which they aimed, 
— which is happiness in sin and alienation from God. 
The nature of this ruin will be discussed more fully 
in another place, and therefore we shall not en- 
large. There is nothing in language, in Scripture 



NOT ANNIHILATION. 249 

or reason, which shows that to be destroyed is to be 
annihilated. 

The passage in the fourth chapter of Malachi is 
often referred to, to prove the utter annihilation of 
the wicked. ^'For behold, the day cometh, that 
shall burn as an oven ; and all the proud, yea, all 
that do wickedly, shall be stubble : and the day that 
cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, 
that it shall leave them neither root nor branch." 

But we deny that this passage has any reference 
to future punishment, any more than to any judg- 
ment or destruction by which men are removed from 
earth. The inhabitants of Sodom and Gromorrah 
were burned up root and branch, and yet they were 
not annihilated. The flood swept away the old 
world, but not one intelligent existence was extin- 
guished. So it is predicted; in the above passage, 
that the day or time is coming, when all wicked 
men, who are too depraved to be reclaimed, and 
who will not submit to the Lord, shall be destroyed 
from off the face of the earth, in order that our 
world may become an abode of righteous people 
only. This destruction is often referred to in the 
prophets ; but when it comes it will be no more an 
annihilation, than is the death of any man. There 
will only be a separation between soul and body. 
The thinking principle will still survive and live on 
forever. 

5. It is contrary to all that we know of the works 
and operations of God, that anything should ever be 

annihilated. 

11* 



250 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

It is a well-established principle in science, that 
no particle of matter is ever annihilated. All the 
manifestations in the natural world show that mat- 
ter, in undergoing its various transformations and 
changes, loses none of its substances. It may be 
decomposed, may enter into a variety of new com- 
binations, may be changed from solid to liquid, and 
from liquid to invisible gases, and yet not an atom 
be annihilated. 

We may take water, and resolve it into two sub- 
stances, that bear no resemblance to the original, 
hydrogen and oxygen gases, and then burn them 
up, and yet nothing is lost. They may still be re- 
tained and reunited again into water. There is no 
such thing as annihilation known in the material 
universe. How do we know, then, that there is in 
the spiritual ? All the facts within the range of our 
knowledge is against such an assumption. 

We have in general just as good evidence of the 
existence of mind, as we have of matter. We know 
matter from its properties, and this is about all we 
do know. Ask the wisest man, what is matter? 
And he can only define it to you by its properties. 
He tells you matter is that which possesses certain 
essential or inherent properties, such as figure, 
divisibility, impenetrabihty, mobility, extension, in- 
ertia, and attraction. That is material which mani- 
fests any one or more of these properties. The 
existence of material bodies is, then, known only 
by their manifested properties. Now, we have 
the same evidence in kind of the existence of 



NOT ANNIHILATION. 251 

mind. We know mind by its essential properties. 
It thinks, judges, reasons; it loves and hates. 
Thought, then, reason and affection, variously exer- 
cised, are the properties of a living soul, and point 
out its existence as certainly as matter is indicated 
by those properties which are peculiar to it. Matter 
cannot think, judge, reason, or love. These are 
spiritual properties, and belong only to the soul. 

Now, as it is a settled, demonstrated fact in 
science, that no particle of matter ever is annihi- 
lated, in all the changes through which it passes, 
or the different forms it takes, may we not conclude 
that the mind, which has its own distinct properties, 
is never annihilated? It would certainly be con- 
trary to all that we know of the operations of God 
in the natural world, to suppose it ever would be. 
There are no facts, then, within the range of human 
knowledge, upon which to base an opinion, that 
man's spiritual nature will ever cease to exist. 
We judge, therefore, that the idea of an annihilation 
of the wicked is contrary to Scripture and reason. 
It would certainly be madness for any rational being 
to rest a hope of an escape from future misery, on 
a foundation so uncertain, to say the least, and 
neglect that cultivation of character which is essen- 
tial to happiness. It would be wiser and better, on 
the belief of an endless life, to seek, by an obedience 
to all the laws of God written in our physical, moral, 
and spiritual natures, to escape from all misery in a 
world where no sin or sorrow can ever enter. 



252 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

The future punishment threatened in Scripture, 
is not 

TORMENT IN LITERAL FIRE. 

The belief has been, and is still entertained by 
many, that the wicked will be tormented in literal 
fire in hell forever. But is this the meaning of 
those Scriptures, which represent hell as a place of 
fire ? Can it, in any way, be definitely ascertained 
what is meant, when we read of the lake that burn- 
eth with fire and brimstone ? We think it can. 
Some have discouraged all inquiry on this point, as 
though it were profane and presumptuous. But I 
see not why we are not bound to investigate the 
import of God's Word here as elsewhere. The 
Holy One certainly did not intend to deceive us, or 
to move us to obedience by untruth. He meant 
that we should know just what he intended to re- 
veal. It is for us to search, to know the mind of 
the spirit. A diligent comparison of the various 
Scriptural representations of future punishment, and 
a careful consideration of the symbolic nature of 
fire, as employed in the Word of God, will show 
definitely what is and what is not meant. 



SYMBOLIC IMPORT OF FIRE. 

It is common among the sacred writers, in de- 
nouncing the judgments of God against the guilty, 
to employ the destructive agents in the material 



SYMBOLIC IMPOKT OF FIRE. 253 

world as symbols of agents in the moral world, which 
produce sufferings and ruin of a very different char- 
acter from the effects of the natural agents. 

This is especially true in regard to fire. The 
destructive energies of this element, and the tor- 
ment it inflicts upon living beings, renders it an ex- 
ceedingly appropriate symbol of whatever con- 
sumes, or does damage, and of all severe trials, 
vexations and misfortunes. 

1. ^''It is used as a symhol of sin^ and the misery and 
moral ruin it produces, Prov, 16 : 29, *' An ungodly 
man diggeth up evil : and in his lips there is a 
hurning fireP Here the words of an ungodly man — 
the scoffs and slanders — the blasphemies, and lies, 
and bitter words which proceed from his lips, are 
said to be a fire^ on account of the mischief, and 
misery, and ruin they effect. Isaiah 9 : 18, *' For 
wickedness burneth as the fire ; it shall devour the 
briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets 
of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lift- 
ing up of smoke." "Wickedness does immense in- 
jury in the world. It is productive of incalculable 
misery, and hence it is here compared to a fire 
kindled amid briers and thorns, and in the thickets 
of the forest, furiously spreading its wasting flame 
wide and desolating on every hand, and lifting up 
its column of smoke as a burning furnace to heaven. 
Such is sin, in its destructive and misery-working 
consequences in the estimation of God. 

2. Fire is very extensively employed in Scrip- 
ture as a symbol of those severe trials and afflic- 



264 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

tions, and desolating judgments which God, in the 
ordinary or extraordinary operations of his provi- 
dence, brings upon individuals and nations for their 
sins. Only a few of the more prominent passages 
can be noticed. 

Zach, 13 : 9, "And I will bring the third part 
through the fire, and will refine them as silver is re- 
fined, and will try them as gold is tried." Is. 48 : 10, 
" Behold I have refined thee, but not with silver ; I 
have chosen thee in the furnace of afiliction." 
Ps, 66 : 12, "Thou hast caused men to ride over our 
heads ; we went through fire and through water : 
but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place." 

The meaning of these Scriptures obviously is, that 
God led his people through great and severe trials 
and afflictions on account of sin before effecting for 
them the deliverances recorded. 

The judgments brought upon the Jews for their 
great iniquities, by wars, pestilence, famine, and dis- 
persion among the nations, with the untold calami- 
ties that followed them, are repeatedly threatened 
under the symbol of a burning furnace of fire. 

Ezekiel, 22 : 18-15 and 18-22, " Behold, therefore, I 
have smitten mine hand at thy dishonest gain which 
thou hast mad-', and at thy blood which has been in 
the midst of l.'iee. Can thy heart endure, or can 
thy hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal 
with thee? I, the Lord, have spoken it, and will 
do it. And I will scatter thee among heathen, and 
disperse thee in the countries, and will consume thy 
filthiness out of thee." 



SYMBOLIC IMPOET OF FIRE. 255 

" Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become 
dross : all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, 
in the midst of the furnace : they are even the dross of 
silver. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, because ye 
are all become dross, behold, therefore, I will gather 
you in the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather sil- 
ver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the 
midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to 
melt it ; so will I gather you. in mine anger and in 
my fury, and I will leave you there and melt you. 
Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the 
fire of my wrath, and ye shall be melted in the 
midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of 
the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst 
thereof; and ye shall know that I, the Lord, have 
poured out my fury upon you.'^ 

History informs us how these fearful threatenings 
were fulfilled ; not by literal fire ; but by famine, 
and pestilence, apid war, and captivity, and those 
terrible sufferings which followed their dispersion 
and bondage. 

These evils, therefore, which came upon them, on 
account of their iniquities, w^hen abandoned of God, 
were altogether of a different character from those 
produced by fire. Fire as an agent is put for analo- 
gous agents, and its destructive effects in the j)ro- 
duction of misery and ruin for those analogous ef- 
fects produced by famine, pestilence and war. And 
in this case the appropriateness and significance of 
the symbolic emblem is clearly seen. 



256 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

The full and entire destruction of the Assyrian 
Empire is predicted by Isaiah under the symbol of 
a fierce burning fire which consumes it in all its parts. 

For its pride, and especially its oppression of the 
people of God, the prophet was commanded to 
prophesy against it, saying, '* Therefore shall the 
Lord of hosts send among his fat ones leanness ; and 
under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burn- 
ing of a fire. And the light of Israel shall be for a 
fire, and his holy One for a flame, and it shall burn 
and devour his thorns and his briers in one day ; 
and shall consume the glory of his forests, and of 
his fruitful fields, both soul and body, and they shall 
be as when a standard-bearer fainteth." 

Assyria has long since been destroyed. The de- 
struction predicted has come upon her to the utter- 
most. We now look for her in vain among the 
nations of the earth. The besom of annihilation has 
swept over her, and left not a trace of her ancient 
grandeur and glory, except as they are now dug up 
from the mouldering dust of her rock-carved monu- 
ments. From history we learn that it was not by 
fire merely, but by war and conquest, and all the 
desolations which commonly attended Oriental war- 
fare, that she was consumed. 

No agent in nature could more appropriately be 
used, as a symbol to represent the wide and ruinous 
destructions which came upon her, than fire, which 
possesses a most tormenting power, and consumes 
with irresistible energy, all that is combustible be- 
fore it. 



SYMBOLIC IMPORT OF FIRE. 257 

The destruction of Idumea, also, for its cruelties, 
oppressions, and pride, as seen in the perpetual des- 
olations which now reign over all her cities and 
towns, and territories, were foretold, among other 
representations, under the symbol of fire, and her 
perpetual desolations as a smoke that ascendeth up 
forever and ever. Is. 34: 5, 6, 8, 9, 10. *^Por my 
sword shall be bathed in heaven : behold it shall 
come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of 
my curse, to judgment. The sword of the Lord is 
filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and 
with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of 
the kidneys of rams ; for the Lord hath a sacrifice 
in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idu- 
mea. For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and 
the year of the recompenses for the controversy of 
Zion. And the streams thereof shall become burning 
pitch. It shall not be quenched night nor day ; the 
smoke thereof shall go up forever : from generation 
to generation it shall lie waste: none shall pass 
through it forever and ever." 

Idumea has been destroyed. The sacrifice has 
been made in Bozrah, and the desolations foretold 
have came upon her. Travellers attest, that over 
all her cities, towns, and country, reigns one wild 
and irreclaimable waste. The prophecy has been 
most signally and terribly fulfilled. But Idumea was 
not destroyed by fire. Her streams were not all lit- 
erally turned into pitch, nor her dust into brimstone; 
nor is there any literal smoke now seen ascending up 
from the fires that have been kindled upon her. Other 



258 THE NATUKE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

Scriptures show that it was principally by invasion 
and war, and all the carnage and upheavings com- 
monly consequent upon them, that she w^as made a 
perpetual desolation. But God's word is true, in the 
sense and form intended. 

The pitch, and the brimstone, and the fire, and 
the smoke ascending perpetually, were symbols of 
analogou.s agents, and effects analogous to the effects 
of fire, which were to exert their fury and force upon 
her. 

The figure of a great burning, sending up its dense 
smoke continually, is a most expressive representa- 
tion of those desolating effects which there continu- 
ally prevail. 

The overthrow of ancient Babylon, too, effected 
by the conquests of the Medo-Persian kings, and sub- 
sequent wars, was foretold by Isaiah^ chap. 47 : 14, 
under the symbol of a burning fire. 

In all these enumerated cases, it is seen that fire, 
on account of its destructive energy as a fearful 
agent in nature, and its power to produce misery, is 
employed as an emblem or symbol of corresponding 
destructions produced by entirely different agents, 
as punishments for sin. 

Now the force of the argument drawn from these 
examples of the symbolic use of fire, in reference to 
the future punishments of the wicked, is this — as 
fire,, on account of its destructive energy, and its 
power to produce misery, is very generally employed 
in Scripture, as a symbol to represent all the great, 
varied, and terrible calamities which in the provi- 



SYMBOLIC IMPORT OF FIRE. 259 

dence of God came upon men as the fruit or punish.- 
ment of sin ; so, according to the analogies of the 
word of God, when fire is spoken of in reference to 
the eternal torment of the wicked, it is still used as 
a symbol simply of those miseries they will suffer 
in consequence of sin, of whatever nature they may 
be. 

To us there is great force in this argument, as it 
rests not on human authority or opinion, but upon 
the exposition which God has given of his own 
word. It is very common in Scripture, to represent 
one kind of punishment, or misery, by the effects 
produced by some destructive agent in nature, 
whose literal effects are of altogether a different 
kind. But the connection in which the figure is 
employed, and the nature of the subject, will uni- 
formly show in what sense symbols are used. 

The above conclusion is sustained by a reference 
to, and a careful examination of, those passages in 
the Old and New Testament, which directly repre- 
sent the future punishment of the wicked under 
the symbol or emblem of fire. 

There are various passages in the book of Revela- 
tions, which are often quoted in proof of eternal 
punishment, and which are supposed by many to 
teach the existence of some place or lake of literal 
fire and brimstone in which the wicked will be tor- 
mented forever ; but a carefal examination of these 
passages will show that no such thing can be meant, 
or was ever intended. The book of Revelations is 
manifestly a symbolical book throughout, and can- 



260 THE NATUKE OF FUTUKE PUNISHMENT. 

not be consistently understood, except expounded 
according to some regular and well-established law 
of symbolization. But if we explain the greater 
part symbolically, consistency requires that we 
should the remainder, and this renders it necessary 
for us to understand the phrase ''Lake of fire and 
brimstone" in a symbolic, and not in a literal 
sense. 

The first passage we will notice is found in chap- 
ter 19 : 20, 21, '' And the beast was taken, and with 
him the false prophet that wrought miracles before 
him, with which he deceived them that had received 
the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped 
his image. These hoth were cast alive into a lake of 
fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant 
were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the 
horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth : 
and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." 

In the prophecy, of which these words are a part, 
the downfall and destruction of the great mystic 
Babylon, with confederated nations, is foretold. 
Now, it is manifest, that their being cast into a lake 
of fire, burning with brimstone, cannot be under- 
stood in a literal sense, from the fact, that the beast 
and false prophet cast into it, are not two persons 
or individuals, but great legalized anti- christian con- 
federacies, which, in opposition to the true church, 
have spread over ages, and through successive gen- 
erations, and which have no existence, except in 
the present world. National sins, or anti-christian 
confederacies, can only exist and be punished in the 



SYMBOLIC IMPOET OF FIRE. 261 

present world. In the future we mnst appear as 
individuals, and as such be rewarded or punished. 
It would be impossible to cast the beast and the 
false prophet, who symbolically represent a long 
line of rulers, or long successive generations of 
anti-christian confederacies, into a literal lake of fire 
and brimstone. 

In harmony with the uniform representations of 
Scripture, the fire and brimstone here are symbol- 
ical of those severe and righteous judgments which 
in the present world are yet to come upon those 
represented by the beast and the false prophet, for 
their destruction, by whatever means accomplished, 
and their being cast into this lake of fire, signifies 
their entire and eternal destruction from earth. 

This exposition is confirmed by a reference to the 
passage found in chapter 20 : 14. In summoning 
up the results of the judgments of God, and the 
consummation of the great day, the Eevelator 
says, ^^ And death and hell, or Hades, were cast 
into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 
** And whosoever was not found written in the book 
of life was cast into the lake of fire." 

But how could death, a mere imaginary, personi- 
fied agent, and Hades, the invisible state — an abode 
or place merely of the dead, be cast into a literal 
lake of material fire ? There is no such real being 
in the universe as death. Death is a fact, or an 
event, which occurs to all the living of earth, by 
the decree and agency of God. But in figurative 
language, it is very properly represented as a mon- 



262 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

ster of sin— a cruel resistless tyrant, and Hades tliat 
invisible world, or the grave, to wliicli death as- 
signs all whom he destroys. Their being cast into 
the lake of fire, signifies simply their entire destruc- 
tion from earth. They are here to have no more 
place or power after the period designated. When 
all the dead are raised to life, and every individual 
redeemed from the power of the grave, then indeed 
death and Hades will be destroyed from earth 
effectually, and forever. And what could more ap- 
propriately represent the eternal destruction of these 
long-dreaded enemies of the human race, than to 
represent them as cast into a lake of fire burning 
with brimstone ? 

In the two cases now noticed, the import of being 
cast into the lake of fire is clearly defined by the 
very nature and necessities of the case. Why not, 
then, give this clearly-defined, and consistent import, 
to all the other passages in this book in which the 
same lake of fire is mentioned ? In connection with 
the destruction of death and Hades, symbolized by 
their being cast into a lake of fire, it is said, ''And 
the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake 
of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false 
prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night 
forever and ever. And whosoever was not found 
written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of 
fire." Now, as the casting of the beast and the false 
prophet, and of death and Hades into the lake of fire, 
signifies simply their destruction from earth, so the 
casting of the devil, and of those who are not writ- 



LITERAL FIRE NOT INTENDED BY CHRIST. 263 

ten in the Book of Life, into the lake of fire, sym- 
bolically represents their destruction from earth 
also. The devil is yet to be banished or destroyed 
from earth, and all the wicked ; for, says the apos- 
tle, those who obey not the gospel, *' shall be pun- 
ished with everlasting destruction from the presence 
of the Lord and from the glory of his power." 

The fact here stated in respect to the devil, that 
he shall be tormented day and night forever and 
ever, and of other wicked, in chapter 14 : 11, that 
the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever 
and ever, clearly indicates that their destruction 
from earth will not be annihilation, but a perpetuity 
of misery of a nature hereafter to be explained. 

In the case of Idumea, already noticed. Is. 34 : 10, 
her perpetual desolations are symbolically repre- 
sented by a smoke going up forever and ever. But 
there is no fire or smoke there. It is a most striking 
and significant symbol of perpetuity of destruction. 
So in the case before us, the fire and the smoke 
going up forever and ever, only represent the per- 
petuity of that destruction and misery they suffer. 
There is, therefore, just as much evidence that there 
is a literal fire and smoke in Idumea, as there is or 
will be in hell. 



LITERAL FIRE NOT INTENDED BY CHRIST. 

The various representations of our Lord respect- 
ing the future punishment of the wicked, are sup- 



264 THE KATUKE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

posed by some, to teacli the existence of literal, ma- 
terial fire in hell. 

The parable of Dives and Lazarus is relied upon 
for this purpose. This Scripture is too familiar to 
need quotation in full. ^^The rich man died, and 
was buried, and in hell he lifted up his eyes being 
in torment, and seeing Abraham afar off and Laza- 
rus in his bosom, he cried, saying, Father Abraham 
send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger 
in water to cool my tongue, for I am tormented in 
this flamed 

Now, there are some facts here brought to view 
which conclusively show that no literal fire can pos- 
sibly be meant, and that the whole must be a para- 
ble designed to illustrate some important truths of 
which it is not our object now to speak. The body 
of Dives, we are assured, was buried in the grave. 
It was only his soul then, his spiritual, immaterial 
part, that was conscious in hell. He therefore had 
no material body, at the time, that could be tor- 
mented in material fire, and no tongue that could be 
cooled with water. The body of Lazarus was also 
in the grave. His soul only was in paradise, and he 
had, therefore, no material finger to dip in water. 
These facts, definitely stated in the account, show 
that the descriptions given cannot be literal. For, 
if taken in any literal sense, it v/ould require us to 
believe that Lazarus could dip a spiritual finger in 
material water and cool a spiritual tongue. Would 
not this be making the Scriptures teach absurdity 
and nonsense ? 



LITERAL FIRE NOT INTENDED BY CHRIST. 265 

Our Lord, in Marh^ 9 : 43-48, and other places, 
represents those who enter not into life, as being 
cast at last into hell, into the fire that shall never 
be quenched : where the worm dieth not, and the 
fire is not quenched. The figure in these passages 
is taken from the valley of Hinnom, near Jerusalem, 
where in ancient times the bloody rites of Moloch 
were performed, and children offered in sacrifice. 
To render this place execrable and an abomination, 
it was made, during the reign of the pious kings 
of Judah, the common sewer of Jerusalem, in which 
all the filth and dead bodies of animals were cast, 
and where, consequently, the worm or maggots 
were never absent, and where fires were kept con- 
tinually burning, to consume the filth there de- 
posited. In process of time, this most dismal and 
loathsome place of corruption and death, was em- 
ployed as a symbol or representation of that dark 
world, where the corruption of sin only will reign, 
and where the misery resulting therefrom will be 
eternal. And a most expressive and fearful figure 
it is. But there is one fact here stated, which shows 
that our Lord, in making use of this valley of 
Hinnom as a representation of hell, did not mean to 
teach the existence there of literal fire. He says, 
that there the worm will not die^ as well as that the 
fire will not be quenched. Now, if these passages 
teach that hell is a place of literal fire, they also as 
clearly and emphatically teach that there is a literal 
worm, or maggots there, which will live forever^ and 
revel among the lost. 

12 



266 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

But who can believe such absurdity as this? 
Many of the Latin fathers, we are told, did not 
shrink from advocating an opinion so revolting. 
Most, modern commentators, however, make the 
■worm to signify the conscience of the guilty, which 
^will be an eternal tormenter. Supposing, then, that 
the worm denotes the conscience, or remorse, or de- 
spair, or something in the mind itself, and not 
external, then consistency requires us to understand 
the fire as representing some cause of torment in 
the mind also— the depraved passions of the lost 
which will burn as a fire, and rage continually. 

In Matt 25 : 46, our Lord is represented as saying, 
*^ Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire 
prepared for the devil and his angels." But it is 
clear that literal, material fire cannot here be meant ; 
for, as the devil and his angels are spirits, and pos- 
sess not material natures like ourselves, as we know 
of, the fire prepared for them must be something 
very different from literal fire. It will be, we doubt 
not, the fire of sin, and its torment will be the tor- 
ment resulting from their own depraved natures, 
shut up and confined within those limits which God 
will set to their dreary prison-house. 

Jude says, that Sodom and Gomorrah, and the 
cities about them, for their wickedness, " are set 
forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of 
eternal firep But the inhabitants of Sodom and 
Gomorrah are now disembodied spirits, and cannot, 
therefore, be suffering the vengeance of material fire. 
The meaning of this passage seems clearly to be 



IXCOXSISTEXT WITH DEGREES. 267 

this : the effects of the fires which consumed them 
are perpetual, in and about the Dead Sea. In the 
fires which consumed them, therefore, and which 
are denominated eternal, on account of their lasting 
effects, they are set forth as an example of warning 
to all other similar transoTessors. 



INCONSISTENT WITH DEGREES IN PUNISHMENT. 

In connection with the argument above presented, 
against the idea of a punishment inflicted by literal 
fire in hell, drawn from the very common symbolic 
use of fire in Scripture, we derive another, from all 
those passages which declare that, in a future world, 
God will render to every man according to his works. 
There is no principle of Divine government declared 
more fully or clearly in Scripture than this, and 
none could be more equitable or just. But would 
not this principle be most manifestly violated, were 
all the condemned indiscriminately to be cast into a 
lake of literal fire, and there tormented forever? 
Would not this be punishing all alike ? "Would 
this be rendering to each according to the deeds 
done in the body ? If the benighted heathen, and 
the accomplished sijiner in Zion — if those who have 
lived under a darker dispensation, in common with 
those who have continued in sin under the clear 
light of the gospel, are alike and eternally to be tor- 
mented in the same lake of fire, what becomes of the 
declaration of our Lord, that it shall be more toler- 



268 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

able for the heathen in the day of judgment than for 
the gospel sinner ? To make hell a place of material 
fire, is certainly to bring these various Scriptures 
into direct collision. But if we suppose that the 
simple punishment of sin will be the abandonment 
of the sinner by God, to himself in hell, to suffer the 
legitimate consequences of his own sins, to eat the 
fruit of his own doings, then the degrees of punisb- 
ment must vary, as infinitely as do the characters 
and sins of men in their diversified shades and 
aggravations. It would seem that this consideration 
alone must compel us to understand all those Scrip- , 
tures which speak of fire, in connection with, punish- 
ment, in a figurative or symbolic sense. 



INCONSISTENT WITH OTHER SCRIPTURES. 

Another argument against the doctrine under 
consideration, is derived from the fact that the vari- 
ous Scriptural representations respecting the place 
of future punishment, and the kinds of punishment 
inflicted, are wholly irreconcilable with the idea of 
literal and eternal torment in fire. 

The abode of the wicked in a future world is rep- 
resented as a lake of fire. Bev. 20 : 12. As a pit 
that has no bottom. Rev, 20 : 8. As a great and 
deep valley, where not only fires burn, but where 
worms continually revel. Marh^ 9 : 44. As a place 
separated from paradise only by a deep, impas- 
sable ravine. Luhe^ 16: 26. As a place of outer 



INCONSISTENT WITH OTHER SCRIPTURES. 269 

darkness. Matthew^ 8 : 12. As a prison. Matthew^ 
5: 25. 

Now, some of these must be metaphorical or sym- 
bolical ; for not without the greatest confusion and 
contradiction of ideas can it be believed, that hell 
can at the same time be a lake, burning with fire and 
brimstone, and yet a deep valley, filled with worms 
that never die — a lake and a valley, and yet a bottom- 
less pit, and still in addition to these, a great prison- 
house, and a place of outer darkness ! And yet the 
principle of interpretation which would lead us to be- 
lieve that hell is a place- of literal fire, would compel 
us to take all these representations as literal, and thus 
the Scriptures would be made to teach impossibilities. 

As the place of punishment is presented under 
various names, so are the punishments as variously 
denominated. They are represented as the torment 
produced by fire — as the weeping and wailing, and 
gnashing of teeth, produced by the disappointment 
of being shut out from a marriage feast — as being 
beaten with stripes — as delivered over to tormentors, 
and still more frequently as reaping only the fruit 
of that which has been sown. As it is impossible 
that all these representations should be literally true, 
it is necessary that we should understand them in a 
parabolic, metaphorical, or symbolical sense. So re- 
garding them, they carry a meaning consistent and 
harmonious, as a variety of figures may appropri- 
ately be employed to represent and illustrate the 
bitter effects of sin. 

Having now, in accordance with the plan propos- 



270 THE NATUEE OF FUTUEE PUNISHMENT. 

ed, considered some of those things which do not 
constitute the future punishment of the wicked, we 
will proceed to inquire, in the light of Scripture, in 
what it does consist ? 

It may aid us in comprehending this subject to 
bear in mind, that, according to Scripture, 



HELL IS A PLACE. 

All created beings are limited. They cannot be 
omnipresent, and must consequently occupy some 
definite place. They cannot be here, and there, and 
everywhere at the same time. This will be as true 
in the world to come, as it is now. 

Now, we are told, in the word of God, that the 
wicked shall not stand in his sight, nor sinners in 
the congregation of the righteous. Among the 
saints ^Hhere shall in no wise enter anything that 
defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or 
maketh a lie." — Eev. 21 : 27. No truth is more 
clearly presented in Scripture, than that there is to 
be a complete and an eternal separation between the 
righteous and the wicked in the world to come. If 
so, then the wicked must all be in some world or 
place by themselves. They are to be punished 
with everlasting destruction, away from the presence 
of God, and the glorious manifestations of his power. 
This place is represented as an outer darkness, some 
place outside the light of heaven's glory, removed 
far beyond the region of the pure and good. It is 



PUNISHMENT THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. 271 

a prison, in which the guilty of the universe will be 
confined, and prevented from doing further injury, 
just as we shut those up now in our prisons who are 
unfit for society abroad. To this place or prison the 
wicked will be sentenced, and doomed by the judg- 
ment of God, and the approbation of all the good, be- 
cause they are unfitted for the society of the holy, and 
would mar the happiness of heaven were they there. 



PUNISHMENT THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. 

Cast out into this receptacle of sin, one peculiar 
part, and perhaps the greater and most terrible of 
their punishment will consist in being forsaken of 
God, in some peculiar manner, and left to themselves, 
to eat of their own ways, and to reap the natural and 
necessary results of their own conduct. That the 
wicked will be forsaken of God is clearly implied in 
all those Scriptures which declare that they shall de- 
part from him, that they shall be driven away—that 
they shall be punished from his presence, and from 
the glory of his power. God often leaves wicked 
men in this world without his protection, to go on 
in their own way, and to bring upon themselves the 
miserable results of their own evil doings. Will it 
be unjust or unkind for him to do the same to those 
hereafter, who do not love him, and who do not will 
that he should reign over them? 

The Scriptures are abundant in declaring that the 
peculiar punishment of sin will be the fruit of sin 



272 THE KATUKE OF FUTUKE PUKISHMENT. 

itself, when tlie sinner is forsaken of God, and left 
to his own ways. The following passages, quoted 
in the order in which they occur in the Word, fully 
confirm this important truth : 

Job^ 4 : 8, '^Even as I have seen, they that 
plough iniquity and sow wickedness reap the same?'^ 
Prov, 1 : 81, ^' Therefore shall they eat of i\iQ fruit of 
their own way, and he filled with their own devices J ^ 
Isaiah^ 3 : 11, ^^ Wo unto the wicked! it shall be ill 
with him : for the reward of his hands shall he given 
MmP 9 : 18, '^ For wickedness humeth as the fireP 
Jer, 2 : 19, " Thine own wickedness shall correct 
thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee : know, 
therefore, and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, 
that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that 
my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts/' 
Hos. 8 : 7, '^ For they have sown the wind, and they 
shall reap the whirlwind." 10 : 13, **Ye have 
ploughed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity ; ye 
have eaten the fruit of lies." 

Oal. 6 : 7, 8, " Be not deceived ; God is not 
mocked ; for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he 
also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of 
the flesh reap corruption : but he that soweth to the 
Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." 

These Scriptures, with many others of similar im- 
port, which might be quoted, clearly teach that the 
peculiar punishment of sin will be the fruit — the 
natural and legitimate effect of wickedness develop- 
ing and producing its own misery. As in the natu- 
ral world, men gather the kind of grain they sow, 



PUNISHMENT THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. 273 

and generally in proportion as they sow and culti- 
vate it ; so in the world to come, every man will 
gather or reap that which he has sown. 

This is fully confirmed, and may more clearly ap- 
pear, from a consideration of the peculiar penalty 
of the law threatened against sin. Thus it is writ- 
ten, " The wages of sin is deathr — Rom, 6 : 23. " Tlie 
soul that sinneth it shall die^' — Ez. 18 : 20. ^^ Turn 
ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; for why will ye 
die ?" 33 : 11. This is doubtless the second death, 
of which being cast into the lake of fire is a symbol. 
But what is that death, which constitutes the wages 
of sin ? Can we, in any way, determine what it 
means ? It is doubtless a figure drawn from natu- 
ral death, for the purpose of more clearly illustrat- 
ing its fearful nature to the comprehension of man. 
The figure must be founded on some obvious anal- 
ogy between the two, and by tracing out this anal- 
ogy in the light of nature and Scripture, we may 
learn definitely what is meant. 

The most obvious and natural idea of death is, 
separation. It is not an annihilation^ or a total ex- 
tinction of being; but a dissolution^ or separation 
of the different elements of our being. "When a 
man dies there is a separation of soul and body. 
*^ Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, 
and the spirit shall return to God who gave it." 
This dissolution of the union between soul and body 
is death. Separation is the great idea involved. 
Nor does the separation end in the dissolution of 
soul and body. In the grave the body is dissolved 

12* 



274 THE NATUKE OF FUTUBE PUNISHMENT. 

into its original elements. A separation takes 
place between all the substances of whicli it is com- 
posed, until it is all dissipated and gone from human 
view. "^ 

Thus, death is seen to be, at every step of its pro- 
gress, a dissolution, or separation ; and it is on this 
account, we doubt not, that the fruits and effects of 
sin are denominated death. 

Sin does now, and will in the world to come, pro- 
duce a separation between the sinner and God, the 
sinner and heaven, the sinner and the sinless, the 
sinner and holiness, the sinner and that eternal life 
of blessedness which is in reserve for the pure, anal- 
ogous to that separation which takes place at death 
between soul and body, and between the dying and 
all the beauties of earth, and the attractions and en- 
joyments of life. 

As a separation, therefore, is the great idea in- 
volved in natural death, so a separation is the great 
idea involved in that second death which is the 
effect and fruit of sin, and the one may very ap- 
propriately be employed as a figure or representa- 
tion of the other. 

Now, it may be distinctly seen, that in every as- 
pect of that separation which constitutes the death 
of sin, it is produced directly by sin itself^ and not 
by any merely arbitrary infliction of punishment 
by the Holy One. The Scriptures are abundant in 
declaring, that one prominent part of the punish- 
ment of sin will consist in an eternal separation of 
the wicked from the blissful smiles and enjoyment 



PUNISHMENT THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. 275 

of God in heaven, and the society and blessedness 
of the holy. ^' The wicked shall not stand in his 
sight, nor sinners in the congregation of the right- 
eous, " Ps. 1 ; and at the last the Judge will say, 
*^ Depart from me ye cursed," ^' Depart from me ye 
workers of iniquity." And those who love not 
God and obey not the Gospel, ^^ shall be punished 
with everlasting destruction from his presence and 
the glory of his power." — 2 Thess, 1 : 9. Here, then, 
is a separation — a death declared, and one too 
which will take place according to an inevitable 
law of God's moral universe — a law which we see 
in operation all around us, and which cannot be 
avoided without remodelling and revolutionizing 
the w^hole scheme of natural and moral being. Do 
we not see, that where there is a dislike of one 
individual to another, it will separate and drive 
them apart ? That where there is no true affection, 
no congeniality of character and feeling, there must 
and will be separation, when natural laws are left 
to operate without obstruction ? 
, *^ How can two walk together, except they be 
agreed ?" Just as certainly, therefore, as the pure 
on earth are disposed to separate from the impure 
by a natural law of being, just as surely as the 
serious have no true love for the society of the 
trifling and vain, and would gladly separate from 
them if they could, just as naturally as the refined 
seek other society for their association and enjoy- 
ment, than the sensual and vulgar — so by an inevi- 
table and natural law will sin, when it is finished. 



276 THE KATUEE OF FUTUEE PUNISHMENT. 

bring forth death, and separate the sinner eternally 
from God and the holy, and from their blessedness. 
" Your sins," says the prophet, '' have separated be- 
tween you and your God, and your iniquities have 
hid his face from you." 

They who love not God, and who love not his 
service, and prefer not, above every other, the so- 
ciety of the holy, could not be happy with God, 
and in such associations, were they admitted to 
heaven. That state of mind which excludes many 
from the services of the sanctuary on earth, and 
which renders so many indifferent to the com- 
mands of God, and the claims of the Gospel, would 
were there a back or open door in heaven, cause 
them to break company with its society and its 
God, and to separate themselves from services in 
which they had no heart, and which must therefore 
be an eternal weariness. It will not, then, be an 
exertion of Almighty power merely, which by dint 
of physical and irresistible energy, will take up the 
sinner, and hurl him headlong down to hell, whether 
he will or not ; but it will be the result of a moral 
repulsion. It will be sin — ^his own corrupt— his 
own cherished wicked character, which will separate 
between him and his God, and drive him away to 
the abode of kindred spirits. 

We are assured in Scripture that this great law of 
moral being — of afl&nities and repulsions, which 
we now see operating in all the arrangements of 
life, though broken and distorted by counteracting 
influences, will be perfectly developed in the life to 



PUNISHMENT THE CONSEQUENCE OF SIN. 277 

come. Here every man will find his level, and his 
place, and there will be no such commingling of 
heterogeneous elements as are seen in the moral 
chaos of the present world. Heaven will attract its 
own, and draw with a more than magnetic power 
all that love God to his throne. And hell, too, will 
draw to its dark and impure dominions all whom 
heaven owns not on account of sin. All will go to 
their own place, as did Judas— the place for which 
their characters, as they respect God and his laws, 
will fit them. We can all see that this must and 
will be the fruit of sin. 

And then, too, the death of the wicked in respect 
to their separation from happiness or their eternal 
misery, will be also the efiect of sin, according to an 
estabhshed and necessary law of God in his gov- 
ernment of moral beings. It is written in his word, 
and in the experience of the human mind, that 
where there is conscious guilt, there must be tor- 
ment. There is an indissoluble connection between 
the two. The one follows in the train of the other, 
as necessarily as any effect follows its cause. And 
hence a consciousness of guilt will inevitably sep- 
arate the sinner from happiness, let his dwelling be 
where it may. The great idea, then, involved in 
that death, which is the wages of sin, is in strict ac- 
cordance with those Scriptures, which teach that 
the misery of the lost will be peculiarly and pre- 
eminently the fruit of their own doings. And as 
these point out definitely the nature of future pun- 
ishment, we are justified in expounding the various 



278 THE ^-ATUKE OF FUTUEE HAPPINESS. 

figurative and symbolic representations of the Bible 
in harmony with them. 



SIN CAN PRODUCE INTENSE MISERY. 

The view now taken is not contradicted by the 
fact that there will be great misery in hell ; for there 
is a power in sin to produce torment indescribable, 
which is appropriately shadowed forth in the worm 
that never dies, and in the fires that will never be 
quenched. Many cases have occurred in the present 
world which show that terrible sufferings may be 
endured from the natural and legitimate operations 
of a depraved and unsanctified mind, abandoned of 
God— upon which unholy passions, remorse, and 
despair, are suffered to work their results unre- 
strained. 

According to Scripture, one of the heaviest woes 
that can fall upon a creature is to be forsaken of 
God. Written for our admonition are such warn- 
ings as the following, Eos. 9 : 12, ^' Yea, woe also 
to them when I depart from them !" 6 : 6, 6, '^ And 
the pride of Israel doth testify to his face ; therefore, 
shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; 
Judah also shnll fall with them. They shall go with 
their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord ; 
but they shall not find him ; he hath withdrawn him- 
self from themJ^ 

The deep degradation and misery of the heathen 
world described by the apostle in the first chapter 



SIN CAN PRODUCE INTENSE MISERY. 279 

of Eomans, are ascribed to their own wickednesss 
when forsaken, or abandoned of God. On account 
of their idolatries and abominable deeds, it is said, 
" Wherefore God gave them up to uncleanness, 
through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor 
their own bodies between themselves: who changed 
the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and 
served the creature more than the Creator, who is 
blesssed forever. For this cause God gave them up 
unto vile affections. And even as they did not like to 
retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over 
to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not 
convenient: Being filled with all unrighteousness, 
fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, 
full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; 
whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, 
proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobe- 
dient to parents, without understanding, covenant- 
breakers, without natural affection, implacable, un- 
merciful : Who knowing the judgment of God, that 
they which commit such things are worthy of death," 
that is, of eternal separation from him, "not only do 
the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." 
Beut. SI : 17. " Then my anger shall be kindled 
against them in that day, and I will/orsa/!:e them, and 
I°will hide my face from them, and they shall be de- 
voured, and many evils and troubles shall befall 
them, so that they will say in that day. Are not 
these evils come upon us, because our God is not 
among us f And I will surely hide my face in that 



280 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

day, for all the evils which they shall have wrought, 
in that they are turned unto other Gods." 

From these Scriptures, it is manifest that to be 
forsaken of God, and left to the consequences of sin, 
is the most fearful evil threatened in Scripture! 
Such an abandonment is followed by a downward 
course of wickedness, and by evils and miseries even 
in this hfe most appalling. And yet we have seen 
that it takes place according to a natural and neces- 
sary law of God^s moral universe. And as a mat- 
ter of simple justice, who cannot see its entire 
equity ? If men forsake God, and desire not that he 
should rule over them, and refuse to obey his com- 
mands, and practice the things that he has forbidden 
them, and persevere in sin, is it wrong that he 
should give them up to do as they will, and reap 
the bitter fruits of their doings? ^' Shall not the 
Judge of all the earth do right T' And yet we are 
assured that he has often forsaken men and aban- 
doned them to their own ways,— that he does it 
now, and will do it in the world to come. All 
through the Word, we are warned that this separa- 
tion must and will be the result of sin. 

And from facts revealed in Scripture and human 
experience, we have reason to infer that an aban- 
donment of God will be followed by anguish most 
terrible and insupportable. The Lord Jesus Christ, 
suffered in the stead of sinners. He bore our sins 
in his own body on the tree. In some mysterious 
manner, which we may hope better to understand 
in another life, he endured the curse of the law— 



SIN CAN PRODUCE INTENSE MISERY. 281 

that death or separation from Glod which is the pe- 
culiar penalty of sin. He endured without a mur- 
mur or complaint, the cruel mockings and scourgings 
of his enemies, and his merely physical agonies 
on the cross, did not produce a recorded groan ; but 
under the agony of mind produced by being for- 
saken of God, He cried out. My God! my God! 
why hast thou forsahen me f Mysterious cries ! mys- 
terious sufferings! O my soul, listen, and learn 
what it is, or will be, to be forsaken of God ! Sin- 
ner, come to the cross of Jesus, and listen, and in- 
quire, Can my heart endure, or can my hands be 
strong in the day, when God shall thus leave me ? 
Well might the evangelist ask, ^^ If they do these 
things in a green tree, what shall be done in the 
dry ?" Luhe^ 23 : 81. That is, if an innocent being 
suffered such intense agony, when the Father left 
him, what may not the guilty suffer, when God de- 
parts forever from them ? 

Saul, king of Israel, was forsaken of God, on 
account of his wickedness, and the consequences 
developed in this life were, that in sore dismay and 
distress he betook himself to a reputed witch for in- 
formation, and then in despair committed suicide. 
1 Sam. 28 : 15, 81 : 4. The Jews, when forsaken 
of God, in the final overthrow of their city, raved 
against and devoured each other like maddened 
wild beasts, and were consumed in unutterable 
terrors. 

Who has not read the affecting account of the 
death of the noble Altamont, given by Dr. Young ? 



282 THE KATUEE OF FUTUBE PUNISHMENT. 

He felt and knew that he was forsaken of God, on 
account of his blasphemies and gross impieties. 
Among other things he said to a friend, whom he 
had seduced to sin, '' My much injured friend ! my 
soul, as my body, lies in ruins— in scattered frag- 
ments of broken thought: remorse for the past 
thrown my thoughts on the future. Worse dread 
of the future, strikes it back on the past. I turn 
and turn, and find no ray of light. Didst thou feel 
the mountain that is on me, thou wouldst struggle 
with the martyr for his stake, and bless heaven for 
the flames." A little after, he cried out, ^' My prin- 
ciples have poisoned my friend ; my extravagance 
has beggared my boy ; my unkindness has mur- 
dered my wife ! And is there another hell ? Oh ! 
thou blasphemed, yet most indulgent Lord God! 
Hell is a refuge if it hides me from thy power." 
All this mental agony was only the effect of sin. 
God had left him justly, as a warning to others, to 
taste this side the grave the bitterness of forsaking 
God, and thus rendering it necessary, according to 
his laws, that he should be forsaken. 

Francis Newport was an apostate from religion, 
and for years gave himself up to the greatest irregu- 
larities and excesses in sinful indulgence. It is said 
that ^^a few days before his death, the violence of 
his torments were such, that he sweat in the most 
prodigious manner." At one time, looking towards 
the fire, he said, '^ Oh ! that I was to lie and broil 
upon the fire for a hundred thousand years, to pur- 
chase the favor of God, and to be reconciled to him 



Sm CAN PEODUCE INTENSE MISERY. 283 

again ! But it is a fruitless, vain wish ; millions of 
millions of years will bring me no nearer the end 
of my tortures than one poor hour. O Etermty! 
Eternity ! who can properly paraphrase upon the 
words forever and ever ?" And then, with his last 
breath, he exclaimed, " Oh! the unsufferable pangs 
of hell and damnation." 

In all this inward torment, and this fearful lookmg 
for of judgment, there was no disturbing element 
but sin. This was the worm that reveled withm, 
and this the fire that could not be quenched. And 
now just add eternity to all, let this misery run on 
forever, and it would furnish an amount of wretch- 
edness suflaciently aggravated to answer all the fear- 
ful delineations of the Word of God. There is no 
human tongue can tell the misery which simple 
remorse may produce. Mr. Garland, in his pub- 
lished life of John Eandolph, has given a most 
affecting account of his death-bed scene. He says, 
"For a short time before he died, he lay perfectly 
quiet, with his eyes closed. He suddenly roused up, 
and exclaimed, 'Remorse! Bemovse! Ikmorse! It 
was thrice repeated— the last time at the top of his 
voice, with great agitation. He cried out, ' Let me 
see the word. Get a dictionary.' ' There is none 
in the room, sir.' ' Write it down, then,-let me see 
the word ' The doctor picked up one of his cards, 
upon which was printed, Eandolph, of Eoanoke. 
' Shall I write it on this card V ' Yes,' he replied ; 
•nothing more proper.' The word Eemorse was 
then written in pencil. He took the card m a hur- 



284 THE JSTATUEE OF FUTUEE PUNISHMENT. 

ried manner, and fastening his eyes upon it with 
great intensity,— ^ Write it on the back,' he ex- 
claimed. It was so done, and handed him again. 
He was extremely agitated. ' Bemorse ! Remorse ! 
he exclaimed, ^ you have no idea what it is. You 
can form no idea of it whatever ; it has contributed 
to bring me to my present situation. Now,' he said, 
'let John take your pencil, and draw a line under 
the word,' which was accordingly done. ^ What am 
I to do with the card ?' inquired the doctor. * Put 
it in your pocket— take care of it ; when I am dead, 
look at it.' " 

What a lesson is here furnished to the guilty! 
The dying statesman, in full possession of the powers 
of his keen mind, goaded by remorse in his last 
moments. And now, could we suppose that this 
remorse might follow him along the line of an end- 
less life, what a dreadful doom his would be ! What 
more would be necessary to produce the weeping. 
and waiUng and gnashing of teeth, foretold in Scrip- 
ture ? And yet it would all be the legitimate and 
necessary fruit of sin : " for wickedness burneth as 
the jfire, it shall mount up like the lifting up of 
smoke." Is, 9 : 18. 

Hell will be the abode of the wicked, and in it 
will rage perpetually the unholy and unrestrained 
passions of the lost. Let us suppose a world filled 
with just such as the apostle describes in his first 
chapter of his epistle to the Eomans— those who are 
^^ Filled with all unrighteousness, fornications, wick- 
edness, covetousness, maliciousness ; full of envy, 



HELL THE OPPOSITE OF HEAVEN. 285 

murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, back- 
biters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, 
inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 
without understanding, covenant-breakers, without 
natural affection, implacable, unmerciful," and what 
a world it would be ! 

All the worst passions would here exist, and 
rage, and reign unrestrained, except by those bar- 
riers which God might erect around the mighty 
prison-house, saying to their desolating waves, 
hitherto shalt thou come, and no further. And 
such a world, we are assured, hell will be— -the resi- 
dence and the receptacle of the Devil and his angels, 
and all who are associated with him in feeling and 
character, and who have been led captive by him at 
his will. And in such society, and in such a world 
what wickedness will exist! — what passions war and 
burn, what torment will sin produce in the tortur- 
ings of remorse, and in the rage of malignity and 
despair ! It will need no material fire — no positive 
infliction of misery, to produce all the punishment 
foretold in Scripture. And what figure or represen- 
tation could more appropriately set forth the rage 
and reign of wickedness than everlasting fire — the 
smoke of which goeth up forever and ever. 



HELL THE OPPOSITE OF HEAVEN. 

Hell will doubtless be, in all its aspects, the oppo- 
site of heaven. Love will reign in heaven, envy. 



286 THE NATUEE OF FUTUKE PUNISHMENT. 

malignity, and hate in hell. Order will be heaven's 
first law — disorder will prevail in hell. Heaven 
will have its high festive and social enjoyments — 
hell will be filled with social discord and misery. 
Visions of Grod, of his glorious works, and the dis- 
play of his attributes will be seen in heaven — there 
will be an exclusion from all these in hell. The 
songs of redeeming love, and the loud praises of 
Jehovah will thrill the souls of the holy with rap- 
ture in heaven — but wailings and blasphemies will 
grate harsh thunders upon the ear in hell. Heaven 
will present a career of upward intellectual progress 
unending and joyous ; but intellectual darkness and 
degradation, will send the wicked downward to 
depths unmeasured. Heaven will be a society of 
holy beings — hell an abode of wicked spirits. As 
in heaven happiness will be the fruit of holiness, 
in conjunction with God and his glorious abode; 
so in hell, its misery will be the fruit of sin, in con- 
junction with the Devil and that outer darkness in 
which the impure will be involved. 

As in our Father's house there are many mansions 
which Jesus has gone to prepare for them that love 
him — so in hell there may be many departments, 
suited to every grade of sinners, where each may 
receive according to his works. The self-righteous 
moralist, who loves not God, but himself supremely, 
need not fear but that he will find a place just suited 
to him, with enough like him to keep him company. 



CHAEACTER OF GOD VINDICATED. 287 



THE CHARACTER OP GOD VINDICATED. 

According to the view of future punishment now 
taken, it is obvious that misery hereafter will only 
be a continuation of the misery produced by sin in 
the present world. And can any say that this is 
cruel or unjust ? The intemperate and licentious, 
the dishonest and prodigal, with the wicked of di- , 
vers names, often suffer in appalling forms, the de- 
grading and bitter fruits of their conduct in the 
present life. Now, as God, in the laws which he 
has established, and in the administration of his 
providences, orders and suffers these things here ; 
can it be cruel or unjust to suffer the same here- 
after ? 

There is no way in which God can save men from 
sin and its consequences but by turning them from 
their evil ways to a new and holy life. If the 
wicked, therefore, will not turn and live, but enter 
the future world with the same character they now 
possess, and the same alienation from God, and vile 
affections, they must according to God's immutable 
laws continue to suffer. God has but one law, un- 
repealed and eternal, on this subject. The sinner 
must repent or perish. He must turn, turn from his 
evil ways if he would not die. 

If any are banished to hell, and there suffer its 
torments, it will not be because God is unkind, un- 
just or cruel ; but because their iniquities separate 
between him and them, and render them miserable. 



288 THE NATUKE OF FUTUKE PUNISHMENT. 

It is the will of God that men shall not be happy, 
except in obedience to his laws, whether natural, 
moral, or physical. It is not because he delights 
in misery, that the wicked now suffer in consequence 
of violated law ; but it is because he cannot bless 
them according to his government and character, 
unless they are obedient. To all transgressors, he 
says, ^' Ye will not come unto me that ye may have 
life.'' And this, we believe, furnishes the true so- 
lution of eternal punishment The wicked will be 
punished eternally, because they will be sinners, un- 
reconciled to God eternally. It will not be because 
God is vindictive, or revengeful, or malicious, or 
delights in the doom of the lost, but because pur- 
suing an eternal and downward career of evil, they 
will, according to an immutable law, remain separ- 
ated forever from God, and from the society and 
enjoyment of the holy. Did the Bible teach, and 
could the universalist prove that at some point in 
eternity, the wicked will repent, and possess new 
hearts, and become holy, misery would then of 
course cease, and, according to the law of God, that 
when the wicked turns from his way, he shall live, 
they must inevitably become happy. But the 
Scriptures never intimate, or assert this, and there- 
fore it cannot be proved. It teaches that in the world 
to come, he that is unjust will be unjust still, and 
he that is filthy, will be filthy still, and he that is 
holy, will be holy still. Eev. 22. 

It is often seen in this life that ^' evil men and 
seducers wax worse and worse, deceiving and being 



CHRIST SAVES FROM SIN. 289 

deceived," and go to such lengths in sin, that they 
become hardened in iniquity, and manifest no dis- 
position in hfe or death to turn and live. The Word 
assures us, that those who turn not in this life, will 
go on forever in the same course, and thus forever 
suffer. Hence 



CHRIST SAVES FROM SIN. 

This view of future punishment also harmonizes 
most perfectly with the great salvation which Jesus 
Christ came into the world to provide and propose 
to men. Salvation, according to the Gospel, is not 
delivering men from hell, and placing them in hea- 
ven, merely, nor does it consist in rescuing them from 
some external infliction of wrath to which they are 
exposed ; but in saving them from sin, ** Thou shalt 
call his name Jesus : for he shall save his people 
from their sins." He gave himself for us that he 
might redeem us from all iniquity. Jesus of course, 
in seeking to save men, would aim to save them 
from the greatest evil to which they were exposed, 
and that which was comprehensive of all others. 
Sin is that evil. This is that abominable thing 
which God hates, that exceeding bitter thing Avhich 
is the sinner's tormentor and misery. The salva- 
tion of Jesus, therefore, directs our attention espe- 
cially to sin, as that which is most to be feared, and 
from which we are to escape as for our lives. 
To save us from this, the Holy Spirit is sent to 

13 



290 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

convince of sin, to renew and sanctify the heart, 
and make ns meet for heaven. There is no salva- 
tion revealed except from sin. If Christ came to 
deliver us from the wrath to come, and we are hence 
earnestly exhorted to flee from this wrath, it is only 
by turning from our evil ways, and escaping the 
corruptions that are in the world through lust. And 
all this shows that it is sin, which is the source and 
instrument of the wrath to come, from which we 
are to seek deliverance. 

IS^ow to hold up the future punishment of the 
wicked as consisting in misery inflicted externally 
to sin, and as dependent simply on the wrath and 
power of God, is to direct the attention of the sin- 
ner to the punishment as the great thing to be 
dreaded, rather than to sin itself, and its necessary 
and bitter consequences. Such is the aspect in 
which the whole subject lies in the minds of many. 
They are more concerned to escape hell, than they 
are to escape sin ; more anxious to render God, in 
some way, propitious to them, than they are to as- 
cend to him, and to eternal life, through the narrow 
way of holiness, which Jesus has opened. 

But if the view of future punishment presented 
is Scriptural, the Avhole aspect of this subject is 
changed. Sin here is the great evil. There is no- 
thing in the wide universe to be so much dreaded. 
Aside from it, there is no wrath to come, and, un- 
redeemed from it, there is no power can save us. 

And is not this in entire harmony with the whole 
design and tenor of the gospel. It is in accordance 



CHRIST SAVES FROM SIN. 291 

with the doctrine of repentance, of regeneration, of 
sanctification, the only and great design of which is 
to turn and deliver us from sin. 

And it is in entire harmony, too, with that most 
precious and soul-cheering truth — the doctrine of 
justification by faith : for what is that faith in Jesus 
and his atonement which justifies and saves? Is it 
not clearly defined to be, in Scripture, a faith which 
works by love, which 'purifies the heart, and over- 
comes the world ? A true and living faith in Christ, 
as presented in the gospd, cannot but give us the 
most convincing and appalling views of sin — and 
lead us to see that this is the terrible evil from which 
he came to save, by leading us to repentance and obe- 
dience. And besides, there is nothing but the justi- 
fying or pardoning act of Grod, bestowed only in 
connection with repentance, regeneration, and faith, 
that can so efiectually wipe out our past sins, and 
destroy their misery-working power in the con- 
science, that they shall no longer be a source of tor- 
ment. Every act of God, therefore, put forth for sal- 
vation through the Gospel, in forgiving sin, and in 
renewing and sanctifying the heart, as well as every 
duty we are called upon to perform in working out 
our own salvation, are in full accordance with the 
view taken, that sin and its own direct consequences 
are the great evils to be avoided. To these every 
eflfort and aim of God are directed. And hence we 
do not take the first step aright in seeking salvation^ if 
we are not continually turning from sin. 



292 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 



GOD THE AVENGER. 

It may be thought by some that the view of fu- 
ture punishment presented, is contradicted by those 
Scriptures which represent the misery or punishment 
of the wicked, as inflicted by the Lord himself. 
*' Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.' 
But there is no collision here. It is common to as- 
cribe that to God as its author, which is produced 
by or in accordance with his laws. When he estab- 
lishes a law, or an agency, or a course of things, de- 
signed to produce a given result, he is undoubtedly 
the author of the effect produced. Thus, in Scrip- 
ture, God is said to provide for man and beast, in the 
food which is brought forth so bountifully in nature. 
All the blessings of life we are taught to ascribe to 
him, with thanksgiving, as the great Father of lights, 
from whom cometh down every good and evQry perfect 
gift And yet it is certain that he does not bestow 
these bounties of providence directly, but mediately 
through the operation of second causes in the laws 
of the natural world. But God enacted all the laws 
and appointed all the agencies in nature, for the pur- 
pose of producing these beneficent ends for his crea- 
tures. He is therefore the author of all good, and 
to him all must be ascribed. 

Whatever a man does designedly, by an agent, he 
does himself. So whatever is done by the laws or 
agencies of God, is to be traced up to him as the 
author. 



GOD THE AVENGER. 293 

On this principle it is, that God pnnishes sin- 
though punishment under the Divine government is 
the fruit of sin. He is the author of those laws of 
the human constitution according to which sin pro- 
duces misery. He evidently never intended that his 
creatures should be prosperous and happy in disobe- 
dience to his laws. As a Being of order and purity, 
he seeks to propitiate their highest welfare in obedi- 
ence to the laws of his government. We see this 
abundantly illustrated in the present world. It is 
only as men yield themselves obediently to the laws 
of nature, physical and moral, that they can expect 
to be long prospered and happy. The violation of 
any law, sooner or later brings its penalty. God 
made these laws, and designed their effect, and he 
is therefore the author of their penalty. They are 
inflicted by him. The intemperate man suffers, be- 
(Cause he violates the laws of his physical nature. It 
is no part of the plan of the Creator that he should 
escape from the miserable consequences, except by 
turning to obedience. 

On this principle it is, that the future misery of 
the wicked is said to be inflicted by the Lord. He 
created human minds, and he established the laws 
according to which sin or disobedience produces 
torment. The suffering endured is the penalty at- 
tached to sin. Though, therefore, the misery of the 
future world will be the direct and legitimate result 
of sin, as is often in the present life, it will still be 
a punishment inflicted by the great Judge of all. 

There is hence harmony among all the works,- and 



294 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

laws, and various departments of the government 
of Jehovali. The future world will only be a con- 
tinuation of the present, in which the same great 
laws of mind, and of happiness and misery, which 
operate here, will only be more perfectly carried 
out. In the present world, under a dispensation of 
grace, there are necessarily many obstructing and 
counteracting causes, incidental to a state of trial, to 
prevent the full operation of established moral laws. 
But in the world to come, these will not exist. Laws 
will take their course, upon the unsanctified, and 
produce their designed misery. 

Some may find fault, that such laws should be 
established, by which men will suffer the conse- 
quences of their conduct hereafter. But they might 
as well complain of those arrangements in the pres- 
ent world according to which the guilty so often 
reap the fruit of their doings in disgrace and 
misery. But to murmur here is to contend with 
our Maker who does all things according to the 
counsels of his own will. 

If it shall appear at last, that the great, wise, and 
good Creator could not promote the highest welfare 
of his universal government, and the greatest hap- 
piness of his intellgent and moral creatures, except 
in obedience to his laws — it will be seen that it is 
only a part of his goodness, as universal Lord, that 
the disobedient suffer. God proclaims his law 
through universal being — through all ranks and 
orders of creatures — as well as in his Word, '^If ye 
be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the 



THE WICKED DESTKOY THEMSELVES. 295 

land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be de- 
stroyed, and that without remedy." The obedient, 
therefore, have nothing to fear under the govern- 
ment of God — the disobedient everything. And 
hence it is clear that though Grod is the author of 
that constitution of things according to which the 
guilty suffer the just desert of their doings — 



THE WICKED DESTROY THEMSELVES. 

This is often affirmed in Scripture, and is implied 
in every command to repent, and warning to turn 
from sin. " Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself." 
" O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God ; for thou 
hast fallen by thine iniquity." Prov. 6 : 82. "But 
whoso committeth adultery, lacketh understanding : 
he that doeth it, destroyeih his own souV Prov. 
8 : 36. " But he that sinneth against me wrongeth 
his own soul." is. 3 : 9. " The show of their coun- 
tenance doth witness against them, and they declare 
their sin as Sodom, they hide it not : woe unto their 
soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves^ 
Jer, 2 : 17. " Hast thou not procured this unto thy- 
self, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, 
when he led thee by the way." 

There is no contradiction between this, and the 
former proposition, that God is the punisher of sin. 
God has enacted his laws and designed their effects. 
If men therefore place themselves voluntarily in the 
way of their operation, or in opposition to them, 



296 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUOTSHMEISTT. 

they destroy themselves as really as they would, did 
they throw themselves into the fire, or into water, or 
on the track of a railroad, before the ponderous engine. 

Fire is a creature of Q-od. He designed its effects. 
If any should throw themselves into the raging ele- 
ment, they would be devoured, according to the ap- 
pointment of the Creator, who sees it best that his 
laws should act uniformly ; but they would be their 
own destroyers by disobeying the laws of God in re- 
spect to fire, and placing themselves in the way of 
their action. So the intemperate, the licentious, the 
prodigal and vicious, often bring ruin upon them- 
selves by violating the laws of God, written in their 
physical and mental constitutions, and yet their suf- 
fering is the penalty which the Creator has attached 
to his laws, and these laws, in their effects, will op- 
erate with terrible certainty in the world to come. 

In all the laws of nature and revelation, God 
places life and death before men, blessing and curs- 
ing ; and calls upon them to choose. If they decide 
to violate his laws, they can do it, but in so doing, 
they destroy themselves. He has ordained an in- 
dissoluble connection between sin and suffering, and 
has appointed the laws and agents by which the 
penalty will most certainly be inflicted. If any, 
therefore, will persevere in sin, and form to them- 
selves a wicked character, the consequences will fol- 
low, according to Heaven's appointment; but the 
blame will be their own. And such will be the con- 
viction at the day of judgment. Every mouth will 
then be stopped. 



THE WICKED DESTROY THEMSELVES. 297 

Eeader, may I not address you personally ? Are 
you living in impenitence and sin ? You hold in 
your bands the murderous instruments of your own 
self-destruction. O throw them down, ere you fatally 
plunge them to your own heart. You hold in your 
hand a cup. It is poisoned, and yet you are drink- 
ing from it. dash it from you, ere you drink its 
dregs and perish! Sin may now seem pleasant. 
The foolish say, " stolen waters are sweet, and bread 
eaten in secret is pleasant." But how few reflect 
" that the dead are there : and that her guests are in 
the depths of hell." Sin, as rapidly as committed, 
writes itself in the moral constitution, so indelibly, 
that no human agency or power can erase or wash it 
out. Memory records it, and conscience notes it 
down, so that according to an immutable law, it 
can never be escaped. 

The language of Scripture is, '^For though thou 
wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet 
thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord." 
*^ The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, 
and with the point of a diamond : it is graven upon 
the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your 
altars." How strongly does this language set forth 
the indelible nature of sin. It can never be for- 
gotten. Its power can never be escaped, except by 
that repentance and faith, which lead to obedience 
and Jesus, for cleansing and pardon. 

If you are living in sin, then, you are destroying 
yourself. You are placing yourself directly in the 
way of the straight onward movement of the laws 

13^ 



298 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

of God, which turn not as they go, but crush all 
who oppose thern. If you continue in sin, no power 
can save you ; for salvation is from sin. You will 
be the author of your own moral ruin and misery, 
as much so as any guilty man is his own destroyer, 
who involves himself in wretchedness, in the present 
life, by his crimes. There is no way in the universe 
which leads to happiness, but the way of holiness. 
This is the way God has ordained, and none can 
disannul it. All others lead astray, and in the broad 
road to destruction. You may complain, you may 
rebel, but the holy will see that it is best for 
the universe, as a whole, that all the laws of God 
should be immutable — -and hence, that the disobedi- 
ent and impenitent should reap that which they 
have sown, and suffer the legitimate consequences 
of their own guilt. The immutability of the char- 
acter and laws of God is the only ground of confi- 
fidence to creatures. Were they not so, we should 
not know on what to depend. Nature might then 
be fickle, fire capricious in its effects, and other de- 
structive agents in their results, and sin might or 
might not produce torment. And thus all would be 
uncertain. But we know now on what to calculate. 
Friend, you know. God has told you. You must 
obey ; or if you have been disobedient, you must 
repent, or perish. 

There is then before the guilty — 



AN ALARMING PROSPECT. 299 



AN ALARMING PROSPECT. 

Those who are unwilling to forsake their sins and 
to yield their unholy characters, made up of selfish 
and vile affections fondly cherished, may attempt to 
console themselves with the delusive reflection, that 
they will endure the consequences of their own con- 
duct as well as they can. ^^ But can thine heart 
endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the day 
that I shall deal with thee, saith the Lord." 

We have seen that the misery produced by re- 
morse and conscious guilt, in the present world, is 
often intolerable. And if sin can thus torment in a 
world of probation and mercy, who can tell what 
may be its bitter fruits in a world of retribution ? 
There have been hours when, perhaps, you have 
been very sad, on account of some sin or wrong 
done — suppose you were destined to spend an eter- 
nity in some world of sin, in that state of mind, with 
no alleviation, could you endure it ? Suppose, as 
your coflS.n-lid was screwed down, and you were 
buried, you were still conscious, and that this was to 
be your portion to lie there and think over the past, 
and the light and glory from which you were shut 
out, — could you endure it ? And yet it may be an 
equally gloomy prospect, to be shut out from God 
and the glorious manifestations of his holiness, and 
left to reap the fruit of sin in a world where there 
will be nothing but iniquity. Any view which can be 
taken of the matter presents an alarming prospect. 



800 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

An old writer relates, " that a vain, ungodly man 
was lying sleepless on his bed, and being uneasy, 
and finding no rest, lie began to think, would any 
be hired to lie thus for two or three years in dark- 
ness, without friends or amusements ? Would any 
be willing to be bound to a bed, though it were a 
bed of down, and never stir abroad? And he 
thought no one would. Then he reflected that the 
time would come when, willing or unwilling, he, 
unless snatched away by a sudden stroke, must lie 
upon a bed of sickness and death ; and he thought, 
* But what bed shall I have next, when death thrusts 
me out of this ? What shall become of my soul in 
another world ? Surely all men do not go to the 
same place after death. Do not some go one way, 
and some another ? Is there not a hell as well as a 
heaven ? Woe, and alas ! what kind of a bed shall 
I find in hell ? How many years shall I lie there ? 
In what year after the first shall my misery close T 
These thoughts followed him, and he could not rest. 
Eternity still ran in his mind. He tried to banish 
the solemn impression amidst gay companions and 
sinful delights, but in vain. Conscience, if seeming 
for awhile asleep, soon awoke, and inflicted fresh 
stings upon the soul. He thought, * I ara not cer- 
tain that I shall live till to-morrow. O Eternity, if 
thou wert not ! O Eternity, if thy place be not in 
heaven, though it be on a soft down bed, thou canst 
but be bitter and unpleasant.' " 

So it is, take the mildest view of it possible, and 
it is terrible to think of an eternity being thus 



AN ALAEMING PROSPECT. 801 

spent. But what must it be, to be wicked forever ? 
To feel remorse and disquietude, and the rage of 
evil passion forever ? What will it be, to be asso- 
ciated with the most wicked of the universe forever? 
Let none deceive themselves with the vain idea, that 
God is too good to permit these consequences of sin. 
He permits them now. Yea, he has ordained that 
they who violate his laws shall suffer their penalty. 
Do we not see this, in many cases, in the present 
world? Well, if these things are not inconsistent 
with the goodness of Grod in the present life, who 
can say that it will be unkind to permit the opera- 
tion of the same great principles hereafter? 

The prospect of the wicked and impenitent is in- 
deed alarming. The idea of an eternity of misery 
in any form is dreadful. Suppose you were to be 
just as discontented, just as miserable, just as un- 
pleasantly situated, just as unfortunate and dissatis- 
fied in all your connections and relations as you now 
are forever, it would perhaps be a gloomy future for 
you to look to. But remember that in the world 
of woe all your present enjoyments and excitements 
will have passed away, and you will then reap un- 
obstructed and uncounteracted the fruit of every 
vile affection, of every selfish disposition which 
you have cherished — of all the enmity to God and 
his laws you have manifested, and of every sin you 
have ever committed. And that which will give 
keenness to every pang, will probably be the reflec- 
tion, that you have brought it all upon yourself. 
You, are only reaping that which you have sown. 



802 THE NATUEE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

But however alarming the prospect of the unholy 
in the world to come, it is rendered even more ter- 
rible by the consideration that it is — 



A GREAT MYSTERY. 

Whatever relates to eternal duration must be, to 
finite minds, an unfathomable abyss. The idea that 
any should be miserable forever, is indeed confound- 
ing. It is here emphatically that clouds and dark- 
ness are round about the throne of God. Who can 
tell what an unending eternity may evolve ? how 
unwilling should any be to run the risk of everlast- 
ing misery, when by repentance and faith in Jesus 
Christ, it may be avoided. 

It is not probable that any considerations which 
can be presented, will ever convince the guilty and 
obstinately impenitent of the justice of God in 
their punishment. Every mouth will be stopped — 
but the criminal at the bar can never see his own 
case, as those do who are disinterested, or whose 
peace is to be secured by his condemnation. But there 
are sources of consolation to which the good may 
turn, even in regard to this deeply mysterious and 
awful subject ; and considerations which are adapted 
to reconcile them fully to the government of God. 

The character of God, as revealed, ^4s a refuge" — 
*^ a strong tower into which the righteous may run 
and be safe." He is revealed to us as infinitely holy. 
He will never, therefore, do anything, or suffer any- 



A GKEAT MYSTERY. 303 

thing to be done in his name that is inconsistent 
with purity. He is a just God, and therefore no in- 
justice or wrong can ever be done to any creature. 
And above all, he ^''is love^'^ and hence we may rest 
assured that whatever misery the impenitent may 
sujffer in the future world will be sanctioned by love 
itself. The suffering which men endure in this 
world, in consequence of violated law, is undoubt- 
edly consistent with the love of God. And so it 
will be in the future. 

The love of God is not an attribute or disposition 
which leads him to desire to make men happy, let 
them do as they will ; but which seeks to bless them 
in accordance with his laws. His love leads him to 
seek to make the righteous happy — and also the 
wicked, by seeking to turn them from sin to the 
love and obedience of himself. 

Human governments are benevolent when they 
are exercised in protecting the innocent and good, 
by imprisoning and punishing the guilty. So the 
love of God will be especially manifested in protect- 
ing the good. It will be his love to a virtuous and 
holy universe, which will lead him, in accordance 
with his laws, to cast the wicked into hell; and there 
leave them to eat of the fruit of their own doings. 
The character of God, as holy, just, and good, gives 
us the undoubted assurance of all this. Here we 
may rest in peace, believing that the Judge of all 
the earth will do righteously and benevolently, 
though his ways, to our JSnite minds, are now in- 
volved in deepest mystery. 



804 THE NATURE OF FUTURE PUNISHMENT, 

Another consideration which may tend power- 
fully to reconcile the minds of the good, to the fu- 
ture misery of the wicked, is, that aside from the 
fallen angels, this is the only world in the universe, 
in which sin and misery have ever been permitted 
to enter — and that they have been suffered here for 
moral effect and restraint upon all other planets. 

It has been often objected to the gospel, that, if 
the universe of worlds is as extensive as modern 
astronomy represents, that there are all around us 
myriads of worlds vastly larger and more resplen- 
dent than our own ; it is unreasonable to suppose 
that so much attention would be bestowed upon this 
insignificant province of Jehovah's empire, as the 
gospel represents — that for us God should give his 
son to die, when our earth, and the system of which 
it is a part, are as nothing compared with the innu- 
merable orbs which fill the immensity of space. This 
objection rests on the supposition, that the inhabi- 
tants of all other worlds are in a similar fallen con- 
dition to us; and that they are all, therefore, in 
equal need of a Saviour. Were this true, it would 
indeed be unreasonable and incredible, that our 
world should be made the peculiar theatre of such 
divine manifestations as are brought to view in the 
Scriptures. But this objection really has no weight, 
if this is the only planet in the universe that has 
fallen. Now, the fact that there is no intimation 
given in Scripture that any other planet has sinned, 
or needs an atoning Saviour, and the fact that Jesus 
did come to seek and to save that which was lost 



A GREAT MYSTERY. 305 

here, is to my mind satisfactory proof, that we only, 
aside from the fallen angels, needed his aid. Cer- 
tainly no one has a right to infer, or assume, that all 
other worlds are as miserable as this. 

Now, if this is the only world that has rebelled 
against the laws of heaven, it is not unreasonable 
that that very special attention should be bestowed 
by the universal Lord of all, represented in his Word. 
Should some one insignificant province of a vast em- 
pire rebel against its rightful sovereign, the attention 
of the king, and his ministers, and his loyal subjects, 
universally, would very naturally and properly be 
directed more intently to this than any other. And 
should the king, knowing his power to crush them 
in the shortest time, first send to them, repeatedly, 
offers of pardon, and last of all, his son to plead with 
them, and bring them back, if possible, to subjec- 
tion, by kindness and love, such a course Avould not 
be inconsistent or irrational. The king might see, 
that such a procedure would not only be adapted 
to exhibit his own character most conspicuously, but 
would be the most effectual way to endear to him- 
self the subjects of his wide-spread empire, and thus 
to prevent further rebellion. After all this exhibi- 
tion of kindness, it would not only be right for him 
to execute the law upon those who would not repent 
and submit, but his justice would be universally 
approved. 

Now, we apprehend that very similar to this is 
the case before us. This world is the only one that 
has rebelled. And hence, though insignificant in 



806 THE JSTATUEE OF FUTUEE PUNISHMENT. 

comparison with the other vast provinces of the em- 
pire of Jehovah, the attention of the "aniversal King 
— of his ministers, the angels — and of his loyal sub- 
jects in all other worlds, is very specially and ear- 
nestly directed hither ; and here God is manifesting 
his love and mercy, before proceeding to the execu- 
tion of the final sentence, to the wonder and admira- 
tion of the universe. All this is substantially brought 
to view in Scripture. Though, in the love and wis- 
dom of God, special attention is given to us, yet the 
moral effect is designed for all other worlds, and is 
felt in far-distant regions. 

In his epistle to the Ephesians, 3 : 10, the Apos- 
tle teaches, that all that has been done for our 
world through Jesus Christ, was ^'' To the intent Xh^ii 
now unto the i:)Tinci'palities and powers in heavenly 
places," or inhabiting other worlds in the heavens, 
*' might be known by the church the manifold wis- 
dom of God, according to the eternal purpose which 
he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.'^ By the 
manifold wisdom of God, is meant, his perfections 
variously and wisely manifested in the redemption 
of man. 

In this passage it is expressly revealed that the 
design of God in the great love manifested to this 
world, is not only to save man, but to manifest or 
make himself known to other worlds, with a view, 
no doubt, to moral effect. But what effect can all 
this have upon them, if they have never sinned? 
By seeing, or hearing, through angelic ministration, 
his mercy and compassion shown to the rebellious 



A GEEAT MYSTEKY. 307 

here, they may learn more of the loveliness of his 
character, than they could otherwise know, and thus 
become attached more ardently to him. By know- 
ing the miseries produced by sin here, they may see 
the necessity of obedience to happiness, and that it 
is an exceedingly evil and bitter thing to sin against 
the Lord. By learning that the sufferings of Jesus 
the Son of God, were necessary to redeem from sin, 
their conceptions of the dreadful nature of sin may 
be indefinitely increased, and thus they may be led to 
hate and to shun it. And finally, by seeing so many 
as do, turn away from the offers of heaven's mercy, 
and reject the gospel, and by witnessing the neces- 
sary and eternal banishment of the impenitent from 
God, and their consequent sufferings — they may be 
led exceedingly to fear sin, and to cling with undy- 
ing desire to truth, love, and obedience. Thus the 
moral effect of the introduction of sin into our world 
— the redemption of Jesus — and the final misery of 
the confirmed in sin^ may be to preserve all other 
worlds in obedience and happiness. God, we may 
suppose, in all worlds, governs intelligent and free 
agents by moral means — by motives addressed to 
their understandings and hearts. In the view taken, 
the means are adapted, and abundantly sufiicient, 
under God, to produce the result contemplated. 

I know not what effect these considerations may 
have upon other minds, but they tend exceedingly 
to satisfy and reconcile my own. Eegarding this 
as the only rebellious world, it causes the misery, 
which will exist in the universe through eternal 



308 THE NATURE OP FUTURE PUNISHMENT. 

ages, to dwindle to a very small space, in compari- 
son with the innumerable happy orbs which will 
continue to roll on undisturbed by sin — while that 
which does exist will be overruled for the universal 
good. 

And then in respect to those who suffer — the con- 
viction that their misery is just, that it is self-induced, 
and self-perpetuated, because they would not love 
and submit to God in his gospel, and obey his laws, 
will as effectually reconcile all the holy to the con- 
demnation of the wicked, as peaceable and honest 
citizens are now to the imprisonment and punish- 
ment of the disturbers of the peace and order of 
society. 



THE END. 



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